When Worlds Collide
by Airanke
Summary: Love at first sight; sometimes, it should be believed in. Neji x Tenten x Masamune; Naruto x Sakura x Yukimura.
1. Chapter 1

OFUGHO;ADFUHGA G THE ONLY REASON WHY I REALLY WANTED A SENGOKU BASARA SECTION LIKE, IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ANIME CAME OUT WAS BECAUSE --- BECAUSE ----

Of this cross-over!!!!! I wanted to post it on here so bad... T.T

Anyway, the main pairing of this story will eventually become Masamune x Tenten. I decided on this because she has a technique that's called Soushouryuu (Twin Rising Dragons), and since Masamune's nickname is Dokuganryuu (One-eyed Dragon) I thought "hey, why the heck not?"

Several characters are OOC, like the ones I don't know (IE. Motonari/Motochika). Yukimura, however, is deliberately OOC. Villainous characters are also OOC.

That said, please enjoy! :)  
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**Chapter 1: Excuse me, I haven't seen you before...**

"Tenten!! Come on!"

Tenten rolled her eyes and hurried to catch up with Sakura, her maroon uniform skirt bouncing as she ran. She'd done her hair in it's usual buns, but the ribbons she had in them were longer than usual. She felt older. Her buns deserved more than the short little ribbons she'd originally had in them.

"Here I am, princess!"

"I told you not to call me princess!" Sakura exclaimed, attempting to whack Tenten on the head with her schoolbag. Tenten blocked it and latched onto Sakura's arm, nearly dragging the other girl down.

"Ah – ah! Tenten!"

"Oh come on, Sakura! You're the one who made me hurry over here. Lunch was great, by the way."

Sakura blushed at the comment and the two girls fell in step, Sakura swinging her bag back and forth, "well, thanks for paying. If you were a boy, Tenten," Sakura winked at her best friend, "I would totally be dating you, not Naruto."

Tenten laughed at the comment, "I know, Sakura. You have no idea how many times you've told me that on Facebook, through texts, through emails..." she let her words trail off. Sakura giggled and linked her arm around Tenten's.

_'Sakura is such a sweetie. Glad I have her as a friend,'_ Tenten mused, looking Sakura over. Despite their uniform having a shade of red in it, the maroon didn't clash with Sakura's pink hair. The shirt of their uniform was white, the emblem red. The two girls went to Konoha High, and were currently on their way back to school from their lunch break for their fifth period class.

Tenten watched as Sakura tossed her head to get her long hair out of her face – the headband wasn't doing a very good job – and looked past Tenten at the café to her right. The pinkette stopped and stared. Tenten looked.

"What is it, Sakura?" she asked, on the defensive. Sakura was often targeted by men because she was cute, and even though she could pack a nasty punch of her own, assailants always had to go through Tenten first if they wanted to get to Sakura.

As Tenten scanned the café she saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was a typical café, the outside seating closest to the inside covered by an awning in case of bright sunshine – _'like today'_ – or rain. The tables that weren't under the awning were under umbrellas. There was a group of male students sitting at one outside table, laughing about something and a few other couples. Tenten did a double take.

_'Sakura isn't eying those boys, right?'_ Tenten desperately hoped. They looked a bit like trouble, and occupied an unshaded table near a cement divider. The two sitting closest to them Tenten observed first.

One was wearing a strange purple thing around his head, probably some kind of eye patch. He grin was wide, his laugh so loud Tenten was sure it was disturbing the other customers. His silvery-white hair was mostly swept away from his face. From this distance his eyes – like almost all the other people she could see – looked gray. She squinted a bit, trying to see his uniform. The shirt looked to be a pale blue and his – like all the other guys, surprisingly – was unbuttoned at the top.

Across from him was a younger looking boy, and eager look to his face. Despite the distance she could easily tell his eyes were brown. He had a red sash – _'or should I call it a bandanna?'_ she wondered – tied around his forehead. His hair was like Naruto's, in a way, with the hair in front of his ears and the spiky-ness. As he leaned forward to tell the man across from him something she noticed that he had a ponytail. Tenten tilted her head and turned back to Sakura.

"Gee, Ten, that brunette sure is cute..."

"Sakura, you have a boyfriend," Tenten warned. If there was one thing that Tenten didn't like about Sakura it was her penchant for flirting with cute boys – or anyone who reminded her of Naruto. The brunette reminded Tenten a lot of Naruto, which meant Sakura obviously saw Naruto in him.

Tenten tugged on Sakura's arm, intending to pull her away when she noticed her friend's green eyes widen a bit with excitement.

_'This can't be good,'_ Tenten looked over her shoulder to see that another boy had noticed Sakura staring. This boy had a purple X-shaped mask across his face. His hair was a light lavender, and looked like it had been permed, though Tenten was determined to believe that his hair was trying to decide whether it wanted to be curly or wavy. He was very pale and she worried about his health. When he went into a coughing fit she was tempted to approach and ask if he was alright. The biggest student she had ever seen in her life took notice of his coughing and quickly tried to help him subdue it. Tenten turned her attention back to the problem.

_'Sakura you better _not_ wave at them. For the love of all that is good do not wave,'_ Tenten prayed. She was ready to give them her cold, uninterested look.

Her previous assumption of the silvery-white haired characters eye patch was correct. It reached down to the top of his cheek bone. She decided she didn't like him. He was giving her a rather suggestive look. She unconsciously positioned herself in front of Sakura.

--

"That brunette. Doesn't like me, I think. Whaddya' think, Masa?"

"One, don't call me Masa. Two, I don't see why you give a shit."

Motochika gave Masamune a disapproving look. In response Masamune glared, making the other man cower. Hanbei went into a fit of laughter that quickly changed to a fit of coughing, causing both Keiji and Hideyoshi to stand up.

"Ah, ah, take it easy buddy," Keiji said, patting Hanbei lightly on the back, "we don't need you to start spewing blood. That wouldn't be, um, good."

"Of course it wouldn't be good!" Hideyoshi exclaimed, "did you take your medication or did you leave it at school?"

"Left it at school... by accident, honest!" Hanbei insisted at Hideyoshi's unimpressed look. Masamune elbowed Yukimura, "oi, what're you lookin' at huh?"

Yukimura turned his head, brown eyes mischievous, "the pink haired girl. She's cute. Her friend would be pretty if she didn't look like she was going to kill us."

Masamune was tempted to look, but he crossed his arm's over his chest and tossed his head, "hah! You and girls."

"Me and girls? You're the one who has a problem."

"Don't make me hurt you, Sanada."

Yukimura made a terrified face and looked back at the two girls. Masamune sighed; if Yukimura got into trouble, it would be better if he saw what the trouble was. He peeked past Yukimura's shoulders. His eyebrow went up.

One girl had soft pink hair down to at least her shoulder blades. Her eyes were big and expressive, but color was impossible to tell from this distance. She made the mistake of waving, which caused Motochika to comment, "oh, oh she's waving Yuki say something."

"Well what the heck do I say?"

"I – I dunno, call her pinky?"

Motochika leaned back as he received five glares. He put his hands up in surrender, "wah, I'm just sayin' guys. No need to get cranky."

Masamune kicked him under the table and turned his attention back to the girls. Their uniforms were red themed: white shirts, maroon skirts, red school emblem. On the sleeve of the shirt, he noticed.

_'You should never wave at Yukimura. Makes him think he has a chance,'_ Masamune sighed, his eye flitting over to the other girl.

Now here was someone interesting, to him at least.

This was the girl that Yukimura must have been talking about when he stated that she would be " pretty if she didn't look like she was going to kill us". Masamune knew the look though, and it was a front. He admitted that she looked tough, boasting some well toned arms and legs. She was wearing Nike's too, not some leather shoes.

_'Sports maybe?' _he mused, half-glad that he was hidden by Yukimura. He wondered what she would look like with out her hair in buns, though the buns themselves were cute. The ribbon she had in them was yellow, a contrast the red scheme of her uniform.

Masamune itched to strangle Yukimura as he called out, "hey pinky."

--

"Hey pinky."

Tenten felt like a blood vessel in her head had just popped.

"... did he just call you _pinky_?" she demanded, aware that steam might be coming out of her head. Nobody called Sakura pinky except maybe Kisame. But he was Kisame, and Tenten happened to like him. She had no idea who this kid was, and he had the nerve to call her Sakura _pinky_.

Sakura was unaware of Tenten's inner conflict and she side stepped her, moving ahead, "hi."

The guy with silvery hair made like he was going to punch the brunette in the shoulder but he stopped himself and grinned, his head dropping to the table to rest on his arms. The brunette looked about to speak again and Tenten wondered if he was going to say something cheesy like "where have you been all my life". Instead she got a well-mannered response.

"I'd rather not call you pinky. I'm Sanada Yukimura, Yuki for short. What's your name?"

_'Okay about a thousand percent more polite than I thought,'_ Tenten guiltily thought to herself as Sakura called back, "I'm Haruno Sakura."

Yukimura chuckled, "it fits. What school do you go to?" he glanced at his companions who looked curious at this point, "we haven't seen that uniform before."

Tenten was surprised, as was Sakura, _'then again, I haven't seen their uniform before either so...'_

"We're from Konoha High," Sakura replied shyly. Tenten tried to get her attention, whispering, "Sakura, you're going into your flirtatious mood!"

"Oh hush I _am_ feeling flirtatious," she whispered back, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Tenten's eyes glued themselves to Yukimura. He glanced at her, _'one wrong move buster and you are _dead._'_

"Konoha High? Is it that big building down that street?" he nodded his head in the general direction. Sakura took a few subtle steps forward, nodding her head, "mm-hm."

_'I know she doesn't mean any harm but what if Yukimura gets the wrong idea?' _Tenten worried over this thought when another struck her: what if Naruto showed up? The thought alone almost made her pale.

"You know, Sakura, you're pretty cute."

"You're pretty cute yourself."

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so," Sakura purred, moving steadily closer. Tenten wanted to dance in her spot; she should have followed after Sakura more quickly. Swift movement now would draw attention, even if she was good with her arms and legs. Yukimura, despite his small frame, looked like he could pack a powerful punch. Out of his companions the one across from him, the one with the topknot and the one with the high tail were obvious well-muscled.

_'Tenten stop it. You're over-thinking the _entire_ situation. RELAX.'_

She happened to look down a street while locking her hands behind her back and saw a bob of bright yellow. Her eyes widened, _'please god do not tell me that was Naruto. Please.'_

She turned her attention back to the scene in front of her. Sakura was clearly interested in Yukimura by her body language, and if his subtly looking over her was anything to go by he was interested in her. But he glanced at Tenten, looked back at Sakura, and glanced at Tenten again, as if he expected her to do something. She gnawed on her lower lip, eyes going back to the street, _'what should I do?'_

To her surprise Yukimura had looked down the street when she did.

_'So he's being cautious... that's... interesting...'_

Tenten took her chance in their lag of speech; she quickly stepped up to Sakura's side and elbowed her lightly, informing Yukimura shyly, "sorry to ruin the fun, but she's taken," a quick look at the other boys and she added, "so am I."

Yukimura didn't respond how she thought he would to this information. He smiled at her and said, "oh I'm just harmlessly flirting, that's all."

A fist rose in the air behind him and bonked him on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he complained to whoever had hit him.

"You never harmlessly flirt, Sanada."

That voice perked Tenten's interest. There was a certain sound to it that just made her shiver. She shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking like that when she had Neji.

Yukimura laughed, "well, she talks like a girl with a boyfriend anyway."

Tenten was taken aback, and Naruto's approach was forgotten, "what? You knew from the start?"

"Uh-huh. That's why I said I was harmlessly flirting – and don't you hit me again – because she talks like someone who's taken," he crossed his arm's over the cement divider, burying his chin in them and wiggling his eyebrows, "though I do have the skills to steal, my dears."

As Sakura giggled and Tenten tried not to, he received another whack on the head to which he exclaimed, "my brain cells!"

"Sakura..."

Tenten's blood was covered with frost. She turned her head to look at Naruto while Sakura greeted him cheerfully, "hey Naruto!"

His electric blue eyes were fixed on Yukimura, "who's he?"

Tenten was sure Sakura had just cracked in two and gone pale as a ghost so she tried to cover, "oh, we just met him. We were walking by and he and his friends caught our attention."

She bit her lip. It wasn't entirely true, because Yukimura had caught Sakura's eye, but Tenten would rather include herself in the equation and keep Sakura from getting into trouble. Mister silver hair looked like he was going to say something when the guy with the X-mask attempted to clamber onto his head, shutting him up.

_'He's... helping me cover? How sweet...'_ Tenten tried not to let it cloud over that there may be monsters hiding in them.

To her dismay Naruto wasn't convinced.

"If they had caught both of your attention, you'd be more interested, Tenten," he nearly growled, walking toward them. Yukimura tensed and Tenten wished Naruto was still as dense as he used to be. Sakura intervened.

"H-hey Naruto. You're right um... they caught my attention. I just haven't seen them before and the uniform... so I was curious that's all," she'd grabbed one of his arms. Naruto was still intent on Yukimura, who was also staring at him. The air was starting to get tense and Tenten fidgeted. She didn't really know what to do now, but she shuffled closer to Sakura.

Naruto half whirled on Sakura, "you were flirting with him weren't you?!"

_'She's screwed.'_

"Ah..."

Naruto grabbed both her biceps, "Sakura I _told _you -"

Tenten tried to disengage him from Sakura, "Naruto calm down, please!"

"Mind your own business, Tenten!"

She clenched her teeth and glared at him. How _dare_ he? She was ready to punch him in the face when Yukimura was suddenly next to Sakura.

"Hey lay off, man," he said neutrally, easily plucking Naruto's hands off of Sakura's arms. Naruto looked like he was going to go feral. Sakura recoiled toward Tenten.

_'Wow. That Yukimura is tall,'_ Tenten observed. He was almost a head taller than Naruto. Tenten chanced a glance that their table to see that one of the guys had his back to her. He must have been the one who'd hit Yukimura on the head. She scowled lightly, _'I really want to know who he is...'_

He was currently talking to a waitress while the silver haired character was leaning against his knuckles on the barrier, eyes switching between Yukimura and Naruto. The X-mask boy was sitting on said barrier, watching closely. Tenten tugged Sakura back.

"Look, I started it. Don't go getting mad at her."

Naruto jerked back, glaring up at Yukimura, "don't act familiar!"

Yukimura's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms, "I certainly hope you're not her boyfriend."

Naruto snarled at the comment and threw a punch at Yukimura; the taller boy dodged. However there was a glint in his eye that Tenten didn't like. To her relief the X-mask boy noticed as well. He was on his feet and next to Yukimura in a second, his arm's looped around Yukimura's bicep in an arm-lock. Silver hair came up on Yukimura's other side to rest a restraining hand on his shoulder.

Thankfully Sasuke and Lee happened to be on their way by, and noticed the commotion. They rushed over to hold back Naruto who tried to lunge at Yukimura. His friend's jerked him back.

"Naruto, stop it!" Sakura pleaded, pushing against his chest, "it was nothing serious I swear!"

"You shouldn't of replied to him in the first place!" he roared, trying to get at Yukimura. Tenten assisted in holding him back.

"Hey don't go blaming her for something she didn't start!" Yukimura growled back, pulling against his friend's restraining hands. They continued to glare at each other until the man with the high tail stepped right in between them. He looked like a mediator of sorts. Tenten looked over Lee's shoulder – he was holding onto Naruto's right side – and saw that other students from her school were showing up, including Neji. He went straight to her.

"What's going on?"

"Honestly? Naruto's kind of blown his top over nothing."

Neji frowned and the man in-between the two hostile bodies spoke, "hey, hey come on guys. Our school's haven't even interacted until now. Cool your lids. Simmer down," he looked Naruto in the eye, "the flirting was completely harmless."

His words had a positive effect. Naruto bumped his forehead against Sakura's head.

"Sorry, sorry," he said. Sasuke and Lee slowly let go of him, eying Yukimura. He had already been released by his friends and was staring past Sasuke, hands in his pockets. To Tenten it looked like his hands were shaking. The other two guys that were with Yukimura were sitting on the barrier, looking somewhat uninterested in the fight.

Naruto and Yukimura exchanged looks before the taller turned around sharply. Naruto clenched his jaw against words while silver hair tried to make amends and gave a small wave. Naruto couldn't resist giving him a smile.

"Hey -!"

"Guess he's gay 'cause he let his hair grow looong."

Yukimura was on Kiba so fast Tenten could only stare for several seconds. She wasn't the only one. Even his friends were stunned.

"I _dare_ you to say that again!"

The fight quickly escalated from there. In the confusion the boy with the X-mask started coughing hysterically. Tenten saw blood come out of his mouth before the boy with the high-tail half carried him away from the fight. The biggest one with the top knot joined the fight, though it looked like he was trying to use his size to break them up so that silver hair could get Yukimura out of the fray.

Tenten's blood boiled. Neji had stayed behind her but the other guys present had joined the battle. High tail also joined in, and by the looks of things he hit hard. Lee was knocked to the ground by one of his punches.

Naruto was taking the chance to try and hit Yukimura, but both his blows were blocked. Yukimura hit him square in the jaw, making Sakura cry out, "Naruto!"

Silver hair had given up trying to remove Yukimura from the fight.

_'They're all getting hurt... how the heck are we gonna' explain this to teachers... CRAP! SCHOOL!'_

Tenten joined the fray, lashing out at her own classmates. Her presence seemed to make the much larger, obviously more skilled students from the other school worry, so they backed off quickly.

"Guys cut the bull and act _mature_!" her comment was directed at everyone involved. She glanced over her shoulder to see that the other four still looked like they wanted to continue the fight but were afraid they might accidentally hit her by the looks on their faces.

Sasuke slipped by her to test the biggest man behind her. As she went to glance over her shoulder – the big man was having no trouble with Sasuke – she noticed two figures, one with very long white hair and the other a brunette with his hair slicked back, approaching cautiously from the side. They were from the school that she and Sakura had been stupid enough to forget to ask the name of.

Her eyes caught sight of a punch being aimed for her.

"K-Kiba watch where you're-!"

Tenten would be able to block herself if she could make her body turn faster. Kiba's fist was centimeters from her face and she tried to get out of range but -

A large hand wrapped around Kiba's wrist and stopped his movement instantly. Kiba was shocked by this new opponent's strength. No matter how hard he struggled he couldn't get his wrist out of the other students grip.

_'This... this is the guy that... he – he's really fast...'_

Clearly the man – who'd been the one hitting Yukimura on the head – didn't see Kiba as a threat at all. He straightened and Tenten noticed that, through his messy brown hair, he had an eye patch over his left eye. It was black, making her thoughts drift to pirates.

"Watch where you're aiming, kid," he informed Kiba, thrusting him back. Kiba stumbled and stared up at him. He turned to Tenten.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Y-yeah... th-thanks..." she managed to say, distracted by his blue eye. He was quite handsome, the eye patch adding an air of mystery to him that made Tenten want to know who he was. He tapped the back of one of his hands against her cheek and gave her a smirk that made her swoon on the inside before narrowing his lone eye at his classmates.

"Haul ass back to school. I don't wanna'_ hear_ it Motochika! Move it! Don't make me set Mistu on you!"

"Hai, _haaaaai!!"_ Motochika – silver hair – cried, racing away from the situation with Yukimura over his shoulder.

"Why does he have Yukimura over his _shoulder?_" Tenten's savior demanded, walking toward his classmates, now totaling out to be eight – though two had just left.

"Beats me," commented a low voice belonging to the brunette with slicked back hair.

Tenten's savior regarded his friend for a moment before turning to the kid with the X-mask, "what the hell were you doing, getting involved for? One of these days, that cough of yours is gonna' get ya, and we don't need that happening, you see?"

"Hai, onii-san. I tried not to but..."

"Ah, never mind," her savior decided, ruffling the boy's hair, which made the latter laugh lightly.

Tenten couldn't pull her eyes off of him, even though Neji was calling out to her about them needing to get back to school asap. Tenten absentmindedly nodded her head, and blushed lightly when her current interest looked over his shoulder at her. After a frantic call from Sakura and Neji she took off.

--

"Hey I saw that."

"Saw what?" Masamune demanded. Motochika grinned at him as they all piled onto the bus, "you were lookin' at her yeah you were!"

Masamune couldn't help smiling even as he smacked Motochika upside the head, "shut up, just shut up."

"Oo Masamune's gotta' cruuush!"

"I thought I told you to shut up?"

"You did. I didn't listen – OH SHI-!" Motochika bolted for the stairs to the top of the bus. Masamune glared over the seats at him as he settled in the back with Yukimura, Keiji, Hanbei and Mitsuhide.

"We get back to school you're _dead_," Masamune threatened, sitting next to Kojyuro. Motochika made a distressed noise that made those around him laugh.

"Masamune-sama."

"Huh?"

"You could try."

Masamune felt heat start rising to his cheeks, "you too, huh?"

Kojyuro smiled, "Hishashii's hounding me about hounding you to get yourself a girlfriend. You could use one."

"I don't even know that girl's name," Masamune leaned back against the chair, "she's fine though. Nice legs on her," he commented, smirking as he glanced at Kojyuro. His friend was staring out the window.

"I'm going to pretend you never said that."

"Oh come on Kojyuro! Tell me! How's it going with you and Hishashii huh, huh? Getting anywhere? I mean you guys _have_ been going steady for three damn years."

"Masamune-sama..." Kojyuro half-whined, giving him a 'please no' face. Masamune sighed, "fine, fine. I'll lay off."

"... you could care less about her legs," Kojyuro commented as the bus came to it's next stop to let someone off. Masamune tensed, "well, yeah I could. I really don't. You're the one with a thing for legs. Isn't that how you and Hishashii got together in the first place?"

Kojyuro turned red, "you could say that."

Masamune chuckled, _'Hisha's a pretty physical girl though...'_

Silence fell over the bus, causing Masamune to look over his shoulder. Motochika and Yukimura were asleep, which explained why it was so quiet. Mitsuhide looked like he was nodding off when he jumped a little and pulled out his phone. The caller was Nou Hime, judging by the way Mitsuhide whispered. Keiji seemed interested in the conversation but Hanbei was in his way. Mitsuhide twisted his body toward the window, ignoring the two eavesdroppers to his right.

Masamune sighed as his thoughts returned to the girl, _'she was tough. Hell, she punched one of her own classmates in the face. But that one guy with the long hair... must have been her guy... huh...'_

A stop before theirs, Masamune got up. Keiji took this as the signal to wake up Motochika and Yukimura. The two of them stretched.

The bus came to a stop and the group got off, walking for about five minutes to get to their school: Sengoku High.

--

"And... what would be your explanation for such injuries?" Iruka demanded, his eyebrow twitching. Tenten fiddled with the bottom of her skirt. She'd been worried about what the guys were going to say about their totally trashed appearances.

"We got into a scuffle. That's all, Iruka-sensei," Naruto informed him, all smiles. Iruka bought it and let them pass by the gates.

_'Thank goodness we have computer class! It's on the first floor,'_ the bell rang as the large group burst into the classroom. Tenten took her assigned seat in between Sakura and Temari. As their teacher Sarutobi – nicknamed Sandaime – began the lesson Temari smirked.

"I heard from a friend that you two ran into some pretty cute guys today."

Sakura blushed and Tenten resisted scowling, "some of them were cute."

"Oh? And the rest of them were hot, I assume."

Tenten glared. Sandaime had gone into talking about something totally unrelated to what the class was supposed to be talking about, but it interested the guys and therefore the noise level in the class was at a minimum. Tenten noticed that Sakura had logged onto Facebook.

"Sakura."

"What?" the pinkette asked innocently before becoming interested in the status' of her friends. She nibbled on her lower lip, "my cousin broke up with his girlfriend. Ee, I knew this was gonna' happen..."

"Che! Wait... which cousin? The younger stuck-up one or the older mature one?"

"Obviously the younger one."

"Heh. Sorry to say this, Sakura, but I think he's too young for a girlfriend... even though he's older than us."

Sakura giggled at the comment and Tenten smiled. She'd only met that cousin once, but she knew what Temari was talking about. Though in his twenties, he acted like a ten year old.

"So do you know what school those guys were from?"

"No... we forgot to ask them," Sakura said sadly. Temari's brow furrowed before she replied to someone who was chatting with her.

"What did their uniform look like?" the blonde probed. Tenten looked at her, "why do you want to know?"

"Because I think I might know them."

Sakura gaped, exclaiming a bit to loudly, "_really_?"

"Yes, really, Sakura."

Sakura blushed and giggled, "that's great sensei."

He smiled. He knew that Sakura wasn't paying attention, _'but the guys are, and that's all that matters,'_ Tenten smiled, _'he's okay with us girls talking, because we aren't loud... usually.'_

"Anyway, Temari. Their uniform shirts were pale blue and the pants were navy. I think they were supposed to be wearing ties, but only one of them had it with them..."

Temari's brow furrowed more. She looked past Tenten at Sakura, "did you happen to get any names, you flirt?"

Sakura turned scarlet, "well, _duh_."

"Tell me!"

"Yukimura."

Temari's lips slowly turned up in a smirk, "yup. I know them."

--

"Hey boys! Those girls you met today? Temari goes to their school."

"Aw hell. You serious, Kasuga?" Masamune demanded, twisting around to look at the attractive blonde. He watched as she nodded her head, "mm. I'm talking to her on Facebook. They're in their computer class now," she glared at Sasuke, "and _you_ are skipping."

"Hey, I came in late! Shingen told me that if I'm gonna' come in late I shouldn't go to his class at all," Sasuke sighed, "and give me a break, Kasuga. This is the first time I've skipped for the past eight months."

She was quiet for a few seconds, "yeah, that's true... Yu-Yukimura! What are you doing!?" she exclaimed then, jumping up from her seat. Masamune turned back to face the front before looking to his right to see what Yukimura was doing. Yukimura quirked an eyebrow.

"Sometimes I wonder who should actually be labeled the bad boy: you or me."

"You, obviously. We can go into great detail as to why that is, Date-dono," Yukimura replied, typing 'Haruno Sakura' into the Facebook search bar. Masamune buried his face in a hand.

"There you go, calling me 'Date-dono' again... gees... HOLY -" he was pushed forward abruptly as Kasuga pressed too heavily against his chair. He braced his hands against the long desk in time though, so he didn't bang his face against the keyboard. Kasuga tried to stop Yukimura.

"Leave the innocent pinkette alooone! Besides, she has a boyfriend."

"Hey! I can make new friends if I want!" Yukimura protested, having a difficult time keeping Kasuga from interfering with what he was doing.

"Sasuke! Help, please?"

"'Course Sanada-no-danna."

"Sasuke I swear if you so much as _touch _me I'm going to – _KEEENSHIIIN!!"_

The requested male poked his head into the IP lab before scowling, "Sasuke. What are you doing to my girlfriend?"

Before Sasuke could respond – his arms were wrapped securely around Kasuga's waist – Yukimura defended him, "Uesegi-dono. It's for a good cause, really. Kasuga's disturbing me. I thought that maybe you were busy and Sasuke was closer," Yukimura gave Masamune a look. The latter smirked, "Date-dono wouldn't have helped me anyway."

Kenshin stared and then shook his head, "Kasuga. Come."

"H-hai..." Sasuke released her and she flounced to the front of the room. He snatched up her hand and led her outside. Yukimura leaned back in his chair, "I love free blocks in the IP lab. And what the heck are you still here for? You should go home, Masamune."

"Hah. Since when were you so concerned about me?" Masamune questioned, tapping his fingers against the desk. Yukimura was silent; Masamune stopped tapping.

"... ever since you and you-know-who broke up, you've been acting different, you know that?" Yukimura finally said, staring blankly at his screen. Masamune watched the Facebook page, and saw a tiny red balloon appear. He bopped his fist against Yukimura's shoulder, bringing the teen out of his daze.

"New notification. What did you say in your message?"

"Let's be friends! And a smiley face."

"... you're joking right?"

"Nope."

"... you're hopeless, Sanada. And you claim that it's _my_ fault you don't get any girls," Masamune sighed, resting his chin on his fist. Yukimura whacked the side of his arm with his palm, "shut up."

_'It's true, it's true,'_ Masamune wanted to say out loud, but he'd rather not provoke his friend. Said friend was doing a little happy dance, one that disturbed Masamune so much that he had to look away.

"She accepted whoo! Oh. They wanna' know who you are. You haven't officially met Temari right?"

"Nope."

"She doesn't know your name?"

"Nope."

"... you are such a mysterious mysterious person. Maybe that's what gets their attention, hm?"

Masamune looked fully at Yukimura, "you know what? Shut up before I break your face in."

"Ee, you're so scary!"

"Duh, I'm Masamune. I have a reputation of being scary everywhere," he leaned a little closer, "you see?"

Yukimura glared at him for a moment then returned to his online conversation with Sakura. Masamune poked his fingers under his eye patch and rubbed his blind eye. How he hated the thing and memories that stayed with it. Yukimura started poking him in the shoulder. He ignored the enthusiastic teen.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, _hey_, hey, hey, hey, _HEY!_"

"WHAT?!" Masamune demanded, giving Yukimura a death glare. Yukimura swallowed in fear before pointing at his screen and saying, "the brunette girl? Her name's Tenten."

_'He did not just tell me that. No he didn't. Nope. Nuh-uh. Nope,'_ the seconds ticked by with Masamune and Yukimura just staring at each other: Yukimura waiting for Masamune's response, and Masamune waiting to make sure it was all just a dream.

Because Masamune didn't want to admit that he was interested in this Tenten, this tough girl that had a high chance of being able to fight him off if she wanted to.

"Masamune? Hello? Her name's Tenten. Setsuna Tenten."

"So you weren't pulling my leg."

"'Course not!"

Masamune placed his elbows on the desk and raked his hands through his hair, "I hate you so damn much right now, Sanada."

Yukimura grinned his abnormally large grin, "yeah, but you'll thank me for it later. So either you can add her – like I did – or I can suggest her to you, or I could just tell her who you are and get the mysterious mysterious-ness over with -"

"Shut up Sanada Yukimura I'll do it myself."

"SWEET."

Masamune resisted glaring at him.

_'I'm so tempted to kill him. So, so, so, _so _tempted to kill him,'_ he growled inwardly as he logged onto Facebook. He jabbed Yukimura in the arm before finding Tenten. She was the only Setsuna Tenten that appeared when he looked her up, and since she looked like he remembered her, he added her.

"You didn't leave a message! You evil, evil person!"

"Sanada, _shut up."_

--

Class was drawing to a close when Tenten noticed that she had received another friend request. She tilted her head, wondering who this could be.

Her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened when she saw the profile picture Yukimura's mysterious friend had. Temari also looked and whistled under her breath, "wow, Tenten, he's hot. Is he Yukimura's friend?"

"Y-yeah he is," Tenten stuttered, finally looking at his name, _'Date Masamune, huh? That's a nice name... Masamune...'_

To Tenten's left Sakura muffled a squeal, "he looks like a model in that picture! Accept, accept!"

Tenten gave Sakura a look, "I was going to without you having to tell me."

She accepted the request, praying that she didn't end up regretting the choice.


	2. Chapter 2

:D

Hope you enjoy this second chapter here... OH and about the Facebook chat. Yes I DID attempt to set it up like they were actually "chatting". .

**

* * *

Chapter 2: Can't stop thinking about you.**

Tenten turned her key in the lock, pushing open the door. It was pointless for her to say "I'm home", because no one else was in. Her mother was down in the mall under their apartment complex taking care of the sales in a stationary store. The brunette heaved a great sigh, _'I like being alone but one of these days it's going to get to me.'_

She walked into her room, tossing her keys onto her desk. Her computer sat there looking lonely, the keyboard a bit dusty. She eyed it, wondering what to do.

_'I find myself on Facebook more and more at school... at home... on the laptop. But I don't get any privacy on the laptop... I... guess I should use you again, huh?'_

Tenten pressed the circular button to turn on her PC. While it loaded she stripped out of her school uniform and put on a tank top and jeans. Ino would probably make a face at her for always wearing jeans and tank tops.

"Not form flattering at all' is what she would probably say," Tenten muttered out loud. Her computer on, she plopped down on the stool at her desk, opening up Mozilla and Microsoft Word. She had a paragraph she had to write for English on the Second World War, from the point of view of a solider. She frowned as she logged onto Facebook.

_'No doubt Sakura's sent me a message complaining about the assignment... Hinata will probably want some help with it too... but goodness, _I_ need help with it.'_

Her inbox had five messages in it: one from Neji about Saturday, a thread including Sakura, Yukimura and Motochika, a message from Sakura and Hinata about the English paragraph, the final one being from Temari, about a gig on Sunday. Tenten replied to Neji's first, smiling to herself. He planned on taking her downtown to the Mega Mall. She had always complained that it was too expensive of a place for him to be taking her, but he insisted that he didn't mind. She decided that she would spare him the complaints.

Next she tackled Temari's message. She might not be able to make it to the gig, and she recommended Kiba for drums if she ended up not being able to make it, _'though I do know Temari would rather have me.'_

Hinata's question about the assignment was simple. Though she was from the prestigious Hyuuga family, Hinata had a bad habit of leaving her assignment papers at school, stuffed either in her locker or in a a different binder. Tenten quickly typed up the assignment for her friend and sent it off.

Her reaction to Sakura's complaint was the usual: _"Deal with it. You know the rest of us do."_

"I... don't even want to be in this thread! Though I do feel sorry for Yukimura, getting pounded on by Motochika like that... guess I'll stand up for him."

As she chided Motochika for being so unfair – that and Sakura was in the thread while Motochika was teasing Yukimura about liking her – she thought about how long it had been since their two schools had clashed.

"Only about a week and a half... but nobody's seen them around Konoha High since. Makes me kind of sad... they were a funny bunch," Tenten's cheeks grew hot, "I'm so glad Sakura wasn't here to hear me say that. She would never let me live it down."

She was about to close off Facebook – finished with it for today – when a chat box popped up. She blinked at it and smiled when she saw who it was from, _'always this time of day too...'_

_[Masamune]_

_Yo._

It had been a while since they'd last chatted. She wondered what this was about.

_[Tenten]_

_Hey. What's up?_

_[Masamune]_

_Nothing much. You?_

_[Tenten]_

_Same old, same old_, Tenten thought for a moment and then added, _a bit bored, I guess._

_[Masamune]_

_Pshh. You? Bored? That actually happens? Wow. I thought Sakura might be entertaining you_

_[Tenten]_

_Oh shut up. You don't see me going after you about Yukimura being entertaining._

_[Masamune]_

_Oh, I assure you that he's being very entertaining. He's being so entertaining in fact that he's reading this over my shoulder._

Tenten laughed. So Yukimura was over at Masamune's place. Or he was over at Yukimura's, _'funny though. I never thought they were that close...'_

_[Masamune]_

_Bah the sucker's up and left me._

_[Tenten]_

_Aww, are you all lonely now? Poor you!_

_[Masamune]_

_Oi, how can I be lonely if I'm chatting with you, huh?_

The message made her heart thump; she swallowed rapidly to clear the sudden tightness in her throat. She quickly typed back a reply.

_[Tenten]_

_Grr. Caught me off guard there you._

There was a moment's interval before he replied.

_[Masamune]_

_Did I now? That's good to know ;)_

She glared at the wink face. He had some nerve, that Masamune. She inwardly fumed as her fingers scored the keyboard furiously.

_[Tenten]_

_And why would that be a good thing to know?_

_[Masamune]_

_If I can catch you of all people off guard, I must be pretty damn good._

_[Tenten]_

_ASOUFH SHUT UP!_

_[Masamune]_

_LOL._

She glared at the computer screen, fully aware that he was probably laughing his head off right now.

_[Tenten]_

_You're a bastard you know that?_

_[Masamune]_

_'Course I know that! I've been labeled the Bad Boy, after all._

_[Tenten]_

_EH!?? I was sure Yukimura'd win the title!!_

_[Masamune]_

_Really? Why?_

_[Tenten]_

_He's a flirt that's why._

_[Masamune]_

_Haha. It's because he's been called the Flirt. But hey, it's not like you know anything about me..._

Tenten's fingers hovered over the keyboard. She swallowed lightly.

_[Tenten]_

_That's... true. We've only known each other for like, a week and half, so that's normal right?_

_[Masamune]_

_You seem a bit disappointed. You stressin' over somethin' over there, girl?_

Tenten sighed and stretched her arms out in front of her. It struck her then. Masamune could probably help her with her homework.

_[Tenten]_

_Stressing! You know it! Wanna' help me out?_

_[Masamune]_

_Meh, I have nothing better to be doing._

_[Tenten]_

_Well, it's for English. What would you write in a journal or letter if you were a soldier?_

_[Masamune]_

_Give me a sec._

Tenten waited, impatiently almost, for him to reply. She drummed her fingers against the desk.

_[Masamune]_

_If I was writing a letter home (just 'cause I'm not one to do journals and crap) I'd probably tell my parents that I'm doing great, or bad, depending on what situation I'm in. So we'll say I'm doing great, everything's well and no one I know has died yet. Maybe I'd tell them something else like um... the food sucks, Mom, I want your cookies!_

Tenten laughed loudly at the last part.

_[Tenten]_

_LOL "mom I want your cookies" that's the best. Seriously. That really helps, actually. Thanks =)_

_[Masamune]_

_Hey, no sweat._

Tenten wasn't quite sure how to continue their conversation. She shrugged.

_[Tenten]_

_So... tell me about yourself._

_[Masamune]_

_That I would rather do in person. Ya know what I mean, yeah? ;P_

Again she was caught slightly off guard. The gears in her brain clunked along, processing that he was implying that they meet up sometime for a coffee or lunch. She shook her head.

_[Tenten]_

_I'm not sure whether that means learning about you is a bad thing or a good thing... um..._

She nibbled on her lip when he didn't reply right away. She counted the seconds in her head while she tried to type out a letter a soldier might write to his parents.

"I could do it from a girl's view too... no, I prefer from a guy's. And I did ask a guy for help, so that only makes sense..."

The annoying "pop" sound that Facebook's chat made caused Tenten to quickly switch from Microsoft Word to Mozilla.

_[Masamune]_

_Depends._

She stared at the screen, blinking.

"That's it? That's all I get? 'Depends'?!?" she was frustrated by the closed front he gave. She was about to demand a further explanation when he asked her something.

_[Masamune]_

_This is going to sound SO WEIRD for me to ask, but what are you wearing right now?_

Tenten nearly jumped out of her seat while thinking furiously to herself, _'gees, woman, that's the third time he's caught you off guard! Get a grip!'_

_[Tenten]_

_Um... a white tank top and jeans?_

_[Masamune]_

_Figured. You're not the "oh hay boys lookit me in a mini-skirt and halter top" kinda' girl, are ya?_

Tenten raised an eyebrow at this.

_[Tenten]_

_Of course not! Not even for Neji. Something wrong with me not wearing a mini-skirt and halter top?_

_[Masamune]_

_Psh, hell no. With a body like yours you'd sure as hell be sexy in anything._

Her heart did a flip flop and a blush rose to her cheeks. She shook her head vigorously, "stop it, think of Neji, think of Neji...gees, what am I, fickle?!"

She calmed herself and attempted a reply to his comment.

_[Tenten]_

_Thanks... __

_[Masamune]_

_What, no one's told you that before?_

_[Tenten]_

_Well, Ino always complains about how I don't show off my legs enough_

_[Masamune]_

_To hell with that. You'd kill people if they saw your legs, damn._

Again, blush rose to her cheeks and she muttered under her breath, "stop that, you – you – you _flirt!_"

_[Tenten]_

_If my legs kill people, why aren't YOU dead?_

She cackled to herself. How she wished she could see his face. His reply was good enough.

_[Masamune]_

_Aw shit. You got me._

_[Tenten]_

_Darn right I did!_

_[Masamune]_

_Pff. Don't let it get to your head._

_[Tenten]_

_Yeah, well maybe I won't if you weren't so cocky!_

_[Masamune]_

_Huh, you can actually tell, I'm impressed. But seriously Ten? I'm only cocky when I know I can win._

Tenten's eyes honed in on his "when I know I can win" statement after noticing that he'd just called her "Ten". Just what was that "when I know I can win" supposed to mean? She was about to ask when he typed something else.

_[Masamune]_

_Oh shit. I don't mean anything by that. Just saying. Like seriously, I wouldn't get cocky with any of the guys at your school unless I knew I could get out of it clean, you know what I mean?_

_[Tenten]_

_Yeah, I know what you mean, _a devilish thought crossed her mind, _but does that also apply to you winning over girls?_

_[Masamune]_

_I – I swear to god you are making me do some serious blushing over here._

_[Tenten]_

_Ooo, Masamune blushing. And I made it happen. SCORE FOR ME!_

_[Masamune]_

_Oh shut up I caught you off guard at least three times._

_[Tenten]_

_GEH! SCREW YOU!_

_[Masamune]_

_Mm, I know you want to ;) jkjk_

Even with his added "just kidding" Tenten couldn't help being affected by the comment. Her face was hot. She would be lying if she said she didn't think of herself with Masamune at random times in the day.

"I'm guilty... guilty as charged... damn it! It's only been one and a half weeks! We don't even see each other that much, we – we don't talk that often -! Why am I like this? Please tell me it'll pass... please..."

_[Tenten]_

_... I'd be lying if I didn't say that you were making me blush._

_[Masamune]_

_Oo, the truth comes out. Bleh. Truth._

_[Tenten]_

_Don't seem to like that too much._

_[Masamune]_

_Well usually it hurts._

Tenten's eyes widened at the comment. Quickly she typed back. Unfortunately his post popped up before hers.

_[Masamune]_

_Che, sorry to cut this short but Motochika's being an ass. Wants me to help him with a project. I'll talk to you some other time._

_[Tenten]_

_What do you mean by that?_

Despite the urgency that seemed to come with his goodbye, he replied to her question.

_[Masamune]_

_Maybe in a month or so, I'll tell you._

Then he went offline. She leaned to the side until her shoulder touched the wall to her left. She was sure that "Motochika being an ass" was just an excuse. Her gut told her that he was aware that he'd said too much.

_'So he's been hurt in the past huh? Damn it, now I _really_ want to know more about him,'_ she frowned, _'he doesn't need to be so secretive about it, does he?'_

A few minutes passed her by in silence. She uneasily got to work on her English assignment, but that proved to be too difficult, especially with her thoughts straying to Masamune constantly.

_'Ugh! I give up. I'm calling Neji,'_ she threw her hands up in despair, and went to find her phone.

--

Masamune kicked back onto his bed. He hadn't been lying to her at all. Motochika _was_ being an ass, but even so, Masamune couldn't help feeling guilty about shutting her out the way he was.

_'Pff, when did I get like this?'_

He shielded his eye with his arm, "Motochika, get that freaking light out of my damn eye! Are you trying to make me blind?!"

There was a chuckle, "kind of. If it can keep me from feeling like a complete dunce, I'd like to make you blind. Now help me!"

Masamune removed his arm from across his forehead to find not just Motochika invading his room, but also the pirate-like teen's girlfriend, Miu. She waved shyly to him, her green hair tumbling over her shoulders in curls. Masamune blinked.

"Miu, did you dye your hair again?"

"Ah, h-hai! Green this time," she twirled a strand around her finger, "what do you think? Too bright?"

"Maybe a little too bright but it's not that bad. I can't even remember what color your hair actually is," he smirked, "green suits you, I'd say. You look kinda' Christmassy now."

She scowled at him.

_'Well, she does. With her red eyes and pale skin. She really looks like a doll from Christmas.'_

Masamune got off his bed, "whaddya need help with, dunce?"

"This thing here erm... where did I put it -" while Motochika looked around on his person Miu rolled her eyes and handed Masamune the assignment.

_'He needs help. With this. What the hell?'_ glaring at Motochika he said, "you _actually_ need help with this? You're _girlfriend_ could help you with this, idiot."

"But but... I like your house."

"And this is the entire reason you came over here in the first place, was so that Miu could help you at my place. Fucking brilliant."

"Masamune..."

He coughed, "sorry," and stalked out of his room. This really irked him. His apartment was not some kind of place his friends could just come to and waltz around in as if it was theirs. He worked his ass off to get to where he was now, without his family's support. He snorted at the thought of his family, and placed the paper in his hand on the table.

The assignment was from the Health teacher – and the man taught them Physical Education too – and could be done in various forms: written, skit, video, picture slide show or posters. All of them had to tell a story of some kind, and have the people involved either getting out of whatever addiction it was they couldn't break or falling deeper into said addiction. Masamune had already done his... last week, when they got the assignment. The fact that Motochika was doing it _now_ had him a bit worried.

_'His grades are already pretty low in that class,' _Masamune mused, leaning against the table, listening to Miu and Motochika arguing in low voices in his room, _'I wonder what the chose to be their topic... and lucky them they actually get a choice.'_

Usually Masamune didn't get a choice of what topics he'd like to do; teachers always tried to give him the more difficult topics so that he didn't get bored. Which ended up happening anyway, but he wasn't complaining. A stupid smile came to his lips as his thoughts wandered to the person who occupied his interest daily. The smile erased itself as Motochika walked past him.

Motochika pulled a video recorder out of his bag and set it up on the table. Masamune eyed it, "so you wanna' do filming for this project here, huh?"

Motochika smiled at him, "well yeah. I mean, for what I'm thinking of your place suits the scene best. That window has the sickest view ever."

Masamune sighed, "you know, you could have told me that. I would've cleaned up."

"Naw, it's no big deal man. It's fine just that way. You can go out if you want."

The hopeful look on Motochika's face made Masamune firmly against leaving. If anything his friend would trash the place more.

"Screw that. I'm staying _here_."

At this Miu frowned, "I can call Motonari if you want," she faltered under the glare Masamune gave her, "it's just because we're doing abusive relationships, so it's going to get loud. _He_ can't seem to bring it upon himself to explain the situation to you."

Masamune, now thoroughly annoyed, wrapped his arm around Motochika's neck in a headlock and ground his knuckles mercilessly against his friend's scalp.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW _OW!_ Stop it! Stop damn it stop that really really freaking hurts holy crap you have no idea how much it _hurts_ !"

"Damn right it hurts! You little bastard don't make Miu explain everything for you! Where the hell are your people skills, huh?!"

Behind him Miu laughed and this made Masamune smile. He hadn't always been able to get Miu laugh. The two of them hadn't really ever gotten along when Masamune had been dating, but after that...

He set his eye on her, releasing Motochika – who complained endlessly about his 'bleeding' head – and wondered just why that was. He rubbed his fingers against his temple, _'go figure I'd start thinking about that now. Gees...'_

He sighed and rubbed his fingers over his forehead again, "alright fine. I'll leave. But _you_ are going to tell the neighbors you're gonna' make some noise, just so they don't freak out and call 911 on you."

Motochika grinned cheekily. Masamune grabbed his shirt front and yanked. Motochika stared fearfully into Masamune's eye, "allow me to repeat. _YOU_ are going to tell them. Not Miu. _You_."

"But -"

"No buts. And don't you dare trash my place while I'm gone or else," Masamune informed his friend as he walked down the hall to his room.

"Go crash at Yukimura's or something."

"I would but I've seen enough of him today. Plus, Kasuga and Kenshin got in another fight so he's probably occupied with her... ya know?" Masamune grinned, waiting for Miu's response to that as he gathered up his iPod and head phones – he always kept his phone in his pocket. Miu's response came quickly.

"YOU TWO! STOP THAT! Especially while I'm here!" she practically shrieked. Masamune laughed, _'bothers her so much, just that small implication.'_

"But baby, how else are you gonna' get used to us?"

"I _am_ used to you, just not you and _him_ making such comments."

"... that's what I meant."

"Seriously, Moto. People skills. You need them. Very effing bad," Masamune said once he reached the door. Miu looked him up and down, "you're going out like that?"

Masamune glanced down at his high collar shirt, dark blue jeans and black runners – he had no idea what brand they were nor did he care.

"Somethin' wrong with my clothes?" he demanded, giving her a look. She blew a breath out of her nose and shook her head, "I mean your shirt."

"What about it?" he furrowed his brow, _'sometimes she forgets that I can be rather clueless about obvious things...'_

She slapped a hand to her forehead, "_chest_, Masamune, _CHEST."_

He blinked at her several times before leaning against the door and laughing. He laughed for two minutes straight, Motochika snickering in the background while Miu turned red.

Once he got a hold of himself Masamune jerked his thumb in the direction of his chest, "what, it distracting you?"

"Quite."

Masamune gestured at Motochika as he turned around to pull open the door, "you've got body-builder there."

"Yeah, but your chest is nicer..." she admitted, giving Motochika a sheepish look before adding, "he's too broad."

"Him? Broad? You have never seen Kojyuro have you," Masamune bolted out of the apartment, listening as the object Miu had thrown at him thunked against the door. He waited a moment, _'she better not fuck up my place'_, and opened the door again, glaring at her.

"That had better have been something of yours that you threw."

"Of course! Do I look like an idiot?" she asked, pointing at Motochika. He bit her finger and she hissed at him.

"... yeeeeah, so I'm gonna' leave now? Nari's coming right? Oh screw asking him if he wants to. He better be coming."

"Hai, hai, I'll tell him what you have commanded, oh mighty General."

"... you guys are never going to let me live that cosplay down... gawds..." Masamune whined, finally removing himself from his apartment. As he waited in the hallway for the elevator to arrive, one of sisters that lived next door appeared. She was carrying a garbage bag filled to the brim with cans. She huffed as she set it down in front of her.

"You need a hand with that?" he asked, eye on the bag. Her jaw dropped open and she stared at him wide-eyed, as if she hadn't expected him to talk to her. He was amused as her face turned a bit red.

"N-no it's okay. Some of the liquid dripped out and... it might ruin your clothes."

He gave her a look as the elevator finally arrived. Before she could grab the bag he snatched it up and carried it effortlessly into the elevator. She hurried after him, "you really don't need to!"

"It's pretty heavy, hun. You looked like you were struggling with it."

She frowned and looked at her arms, ashamed of them almost. This piqued his curiosity, _'come to think of it, I haven't even seen her other sister...'_

He pressed the button for the lowest floor – L1 – and leaned back against the elevator wall adjacent to the door.

"I haven't seen your sister around. You're Harmony, right?"

"Ah, y-yeah, I'm Harmony. My sister's Clarissa. You... I mean, she never leaves the house."

"Seriously?"

"Uh-huh."

"Psh, she laze about the house and let you do all the work?" he asked. The elevator was slowing down and he chuckled when he noticed that she was watching the bag like a hawk, glancing at him every second. He stretched his arms above his head, making her blush again. As she was distracted by his actions she didn't notice that the elevator had come to a stop. He dropped his arms and picked up the bag, "well, we should take this out with us..."

"... HEY!"

He laughed and held the bag out in front of him. She collided with his back, her voice muffled as she cried out, "you really, really, really don't have to!"

His laughter increased as she flailed her arms around in front of him, trying to find the bag. The fact that her hands brushed over his chest several times did not go unnoticed by him.

"Hey, don't get touchy-feely on me."

"S-sorry!" she withdrew quickly. Finally free, Masamune proceeded to the door and pushed it open. Harmony followed him out to the recycle bins.

"There's a few glass bottles in there so... I'll take them over there," she informed him, pointing to the glass dump. Masamune quirked his eyebrow at her as he looked over the contents in the bag.

"Clarissa a party animal or something?"

"You could say that..."

"How the hell do you sleep?"

"I just... do. I mean, I sleep better with noise and lights. Without the noise and lights it's hard for me to sleep..."

"Bad memories?" he asked, picking out the bottles from within the bag. She immediately dropped into helping him find the bottles as she answered his question, "yeah. Came from a small town where there was a huge murder case. It... involved my mother. She's in rehab and prison. She killed her mother."

Masamune cringed, "well that... that's really shitty. Sorry to hear that."

A small smile produced itself on her lips, "it's okay though. Mom's getting better though I know she'll never forgive herself for what she did. Our dad is a manager of some real estates, that's why we manage to live here," she said, nodding toward the tower they had just walked out of. Masamune pulled out a large bottle.

"Ookay, I've never seen one _this_ big... gees..."

Harmony giggled as she took it from him, "actually, my sister throws parties a lot. To help me sleep. She never gets drunk or anything 'cause she hates drinking. Her boyfriend's like my older brother; stands outside my door like a guard. No one's allowed in my room. I take out all this stuff for her because she stays up so late just so I can sleep," she laughed lightly, "she always complains to me when she wakes up, 'Monnnny, why'd you take out the garbage? I was gonna' do it when I woke up...' and then she falls back asleep. Really funny."

"I take back what I said about her being lazy."

She smiled a full smile at him, "it's okay."

Masamune smiled back and tossed the garbage bag into the trash. He picked up several bottles, leaving her with about three. She gaped at him.

_'Well, it wouldn't hurt to tell her where I worked over summer.'_

"I worked in a bar during summer break. Taught me how to carry a ton of crap 'cause I was one of the strongest employees," he called over his shoulder to her, hefting the bottles into the large bin. Two of them broke against the other glass objects already in there. Harmony dumped her load in and stared at them.

Suddenly she asked, "how old are you?"

He blinked at her, "eighteen. Why?"

"You don't look it."

Masamune laughed, "yeah I know, I look like I'm twenty or something. That's the only reason they let me work at the bar. Because I looked like I was twenty even though I was only eighteen."

She gazed up at him, her caramel eyes wide, "but I thought people were allowed to work in bars at eighteen!"

"Not where I worked. It was an upscale place down town, near the Mega Mall. It's called Bloody Sakura."

A longing look came to Harmony's face, catching Masamune off guard, "I always wanted to go in there, just to have a look around. Despite the name it looks like a nice place, with a good atmosphere and mild music. Am I right?"

He blinked at her in surprise, "yeah, you pretty much got it right. And you would make one hell of a critic."

She blushed and looked down at her feet, "th-thanks. For the time being I'm looking into being a critic of restaurants and bars. Oh and I'm fourteen."

"Heh. Fourteen's a good age to start looking into what you might wanna' be. Me? I have no idea where I'm going or anything," he pushed away from the dumpster, tired of looking at the shiny glass. A glance at his watch told him only twenty minutes had passed by – Miu would call him when they were almost done filming, and knowing Motochika, that wasn't going to be done for at least another two hours or so.

"Hey, Harmony, if you need help with anything don't be afraid to knock on my door. I don't have anything interesting to do after school anyway."

The look she gave him was full of awe, "really?"

"Yeah really."

She grinned at him; he smiled back.

"I'll be on my way, then."

"Alright."

"If you hear shouts and screams from my place it's because friends are there filming for an assignment. They're tackling abusive relationships."

"Okay!"

He listened as the door to the tower opened and clicked shut.

_'Cute kid..'_ he wandered aimlessly down the street once he had reached the exit of complex. He put his iPod on shuffle and just listened to the songs, playing a guessing game with himself as to what the song was and who the artist.

Half an hour later – Motochika had sent him a text saying that they would be another hour – a song that he didn't recognize played. He furrowed his brow as he leaned back against a wall near some bus station. He watched people as they passed by, noting the lusty looks he received from a group of girls. He shrugged it off, and focused on the song.

It was a slow one. His school had played it at the prom last year. It wasn't a song in his tastes, but it made him think about Tenten. He shook his head and looked at the song name.

_'Crush? The hell... did Hishashii put this on here? Gees...'_ he pushed his headphones back, letting them hang around his neck. He let his iPod continue to shuffle through the songs. It irked him that a simple song like that was enough to make his thoughts focus on _her_. He scratched the back of his neck in irritation, glancing at the group of girls again. The bus they were waiting for was going to take a while to get to them. He snorted.

_'Go figure..'_

His phone started ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket, flipping it open.

"Yeah?"

"_Hiiiiii!"_

"... what do you want, Sanada?"

"_DAMN IT I was sure you would think I was Sasuke or something... anyway. Did you finish the Health assignment?"_

"You dolt I thought I told you I did it last week," Masamune replied, grinding his teeth.

"_Oh, right, right... what was your topic?"_

"Abnormal family relationships."

There was a silence that made Masamune increasingly uncomfortable. Finally Yukimura said something, _"you must have really hated him after that."_

"You know it."

"_So how many pages did you write?"_

"About ten. I had to shorten it, actually," Masamune admitted, looking at his watch again. He heard Yukimura sigh and say, _"Kasuga, don't make me call Sasuke,"_ there was a complaint from the girl.

"She still there huh?" Masamune asked, relaxing against the wall. The girls across from him finally got on their bus. The driver looked irritated with them.

"_Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah she's still here."_

"And you haven't called Sasuke yet?"

"_Naw, he's the reason why they got in a fight."_

Masamune chuckled lightly, "isn't he usually the reason for their fights?"

Laughter sounded through the phone, _"yeah, that's true. How come she never goes to you?"_

Curiosity was mostly present in Yukimura's voice, but Masamune's grip on his cell tightened considerably.

"Don't even go there, Sanada. Don't you _dare_," he snarled, briefly wondering if he should just hang up.

"_S-sorry. I didn't mean to."_

"You're lucky I'm feeling docile."

"_Yes I am.. Very, _very_ lucky you're feeling docile."

* * *

_Cliffhangers are fun :3


	3. Chapter 3

Wow look three chapters in one day. Enjoy and froth and demand updates from me, and thou shalt receive!!

... after I finish Betrayed AHAHAHAHAHAH.

**

* * *

Chapter 3: If we visit enough, will you hang with us more?**

"Masamune! Hey, Masamune!"

Masamune lifted his tired head at the call, _'now what?'_

He was sitting in the cafeteria, where most students were for their hour lunch break; which had just started. Sasuke nearly jumped onto the table Masamune sat at, making him bolt up straight.

"You tryin' to kill me?" he demanded of his friend.

"Maybe. But that's not the point. The point is -"

"You guys are tryin' to kill me," Masamune interrupted, stretching. He nervously glanced over his shoulder at the students around him as Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Are you going to let me finish?"

"No, I'm not, you see? I think I'll just," two strong hands clamped onto Masamune's shoulders. A wicked grin crossed Sasuke's lips. Masamune didn't need to look to know that the man behind him was Nobunaga.

"Leave!" he wrenched out of Nobunaga's grasp and slipped under the table, over the bench Sasuke was on and bolted off toward the door. Some students looked around in alarm as Sasuke yelled, "after him!"

Masamune dodged Motochika when the larger teen tried to grab him from his blind side.

_'They're trying to kill me. Yukimura is _dead_ when I find him...'_

He rounded the bend to get to his locker. Hastily he opened it and yanked out his bag.

"Hullo precious," he muttered. He glanced around to make sure no one was on his tail and then he bolted down the hall, toward the school entrance. He skidded to a halt as he came to the top of the school stairs, which led down to the street. His blue eye narrowed; he slung his bag over his shoulder. The other students filing around paid little attention to what was going on, but several girls looked up from where they sat on the stairs and sighed longingly. Masamune scowled and began to descend the stairs.

"I thought I told you guys -"

"Oh come on, Masamune! It's been three weeks already. Besides, I know that you'd like to see her in person again," Yukimura called to him, crossing his arms. He, Mitsuhide and Motonari had created a very small, three-person roadblock. Masamune rolled his eyes. Though a small roadblock, the three of them were professionals at holding him back.

"Fine, fine. I admit defeat," Motochika came up behind him and threw an arm around his shoulders. Masamune glared at him then asked, "so what the hell is this about?"

Yukimura nodded down the road, "we found out that there's a soccer field close to here that's also close to Konoha High. It's about half-way between both of our schools – and within walking distance. Maybe five to ten minutes."

Masamune stared at him. Sure, he wanted to see Tenten. Yes, he was attracted to her.

But she _had_ a boyfriend!

"Hishashii and Kojyuro are already over there. She informed me that they eat there often; it's a nice place. Grassy hills," Mitsuhide offered. Masamune knew who was hanging around to make sure he didn't try to make a break for it; he could feel all their eyes on him.

"If I say no, you guys will drag me over there anyway," he looked around him, spotting Ranmaru, Itsuki, Nobunaga and Nou. He heaved a sigh, "I don't really have a frikkin' choice now do I? Fine, let's go."

"WOO!!" Motochika exclaimed, removing his arm from around Masamune's shoulders and throwing it around Miu instead. Mio clung to Motonari, staring at Motochika with some fear.

"Moto, please stop being so horrifying when my girlfriend is around."

"Nari, shut up."

They would have gotten into a shouting match if Masamune hadn't stormed right in between them. He grabbed Yukimura's shoulder and heard his friend say, "ohhhhh shiiiiiit...."

"Oh shit is right. What the hell, Yukimura? What are you planning, huh?"

Yukimura looked at him, brown eyes mischievous, "I'm not the one planning anything. Hishashii's the one doing all that. You know it."

Masamune sighed and released him, _'he's right. Hishashii is the one that would be planning something, not him.'_

He sighed again, "man, what are you guys waiting for anyway? You act like I'm your boss..."

Yukimura shrugged as the group turned the corner, drawing closer to the soccer field, "I really don't get it myself, but you know, I think it's because we're all the same age and yet you've got this whole mature thing going on. Seriously, Masamune!" the younger exclaimed when Masamune shook his head, "you live in your own apartment, pay all your bills, work late hours sometimes, manage to deal with _us_ when we decide to come over and bug the shit out of you... talk about being mature at eighteen."

"And psychologists say men mature at twenty-five," Mio piped in, she and her sister walking beside each other since Motochika and Motonari had engaged in verbal combat. Masamune's cheeks went hot.

"Masamune's a special case," Nobunaga drawled, coming up on Yukimura's right with Nou Hime tucked under one arm, "tomorrow he'll have the world under his feet, people aspiring to reach _him_, not some god."

"Sh-shut up," Masamune snapped, cheeks and ears red. He stomped ahead of the group, though Yukimura trotted along next to him, smiling broadly.

"The joys of flattery."

"SHUT UP!"

--

Tenten fussed with a ribbon in her hair, watching Sakura and Hinata playfully kick around a volleyball. She scowled and called, "volleyballs are meant to be hit with hands, not feet!"

Sakura giggled and called back, "of course, oh wise and mighty sport star!"

Tenten made a frustrated sound as Naruto came up behind Sakura and snagged her in his arms. She screeched in delight as he spun her around, lifting her off her feet. When he came to a stop he hugged her close to prevent her from falling over. Hinata placed her hands against Sakura's shoulders to keep her friend from collapsing under Naruto's weight, a blush flitting over her cheeks.

_'It does you no good to be so close to your crush, Hinata. Especially since he's with one of your best friends,_' Tenten wished she had the courage to warn Hinata of this, but the Hyuuga was too cute and innocent for Tenten to force the words out of her mouth. In a few weeks she would regret it.

Tenten let her brown eyes stray to the group of boys playing a game of soccer on the field. She longed to join them, but felt strongly out of place because if she did join them, it would mean that she was the only girl.

_'If I wanna' play soccer I have to stop being so shy myself. This just isn't like me,'_ Tenten frowned. When she was younger she had always been more than willing to play soccer with the boys. Tenten fiddled with her skirt. She was wearing a pair of shorts underneath, so if she wanted to play it would be no problem...

"Hey! Hey you with the big legs!"

Tenten blinked, face flushed, and pointed at herself, "me?"

"Yeah you! Wanna' play?" the boy asking had cropped brown hair. Three other boys gathered around him, sizing Tenten up. She looked around, then stood, smiling.

"Yeah I'll play."

"Sweet!"

"Aw, hell no! I want that girl on my team!"

"Shut up! My team's the one that lost a player not yours," the cropped boy retorted to the complainer. Tenten walked up to him and he turned his attention to her.

"Hey, name's Shaun. Nice to meet you," he greeted, offering her his hand. She took it.

"I'm Tenten."

He grinned, then dropped the ball and called, "a'ight, we're having the kick off!" he nodded to Tenten, his black eyes saying "show me what you can do". Tenten happily complied.

She bent her knees a ways from the ball, judging the distance to the nearest player on her team. The other team had red bands tied around their biceps on both sides, where as hers had none. She straightened, dashed at the ball and slammed it with the top of her foot, straight toward a tall player. His eyes were wide as he saw it coming, but he headed it toward another player. Tenten sprinted forward, joining the fray.

A boy from the other team seemed unsure of how to block her, and by his size Tenten saw why.

_'He doesn't want to hurt me,'_ she thought grimly, a bit disappointed. She was going to take advantage of the other teams careful handling of her though. She would teach them not to take a girl like her lightly.

--

Masamune could only stare at the field when his troupe got there. Tenten was playing soccer with a bunch of guys, easily keeping up. There was so much power in her legs and Masamune continued to stare as she smashed the ball into the goal hard enough to break the netting. A boy with brown-cropped hair threw his arm around her shoulders and shouted something along the lines of "that's mah girl" and "I think I'm in love". Masamune narrowed his eye at the statement, watching as Tenten laughed and pushed him lightly away.

_'No need to get so touchy feely...'_

There was a prodding at Masamune's leg and he looked down at Yukimura. There was a knowing look in those curious brown eyes.

"What'cha starin' at?"

"... bastard," was all Masamune could muster before plopping down on the ground next to his friend. Mitsuhide knelt on his right, looking longingly at Nou Hime. Masamune elbowed him; the long haired man turned his head.

"See, I told you you should have nabbed her when you had the chance. Now you're stuck observing."

Mitsuhide scowled, "oh be quiet. I know what I'm doing."

Masamune heaved a sigh and turned his attention back to the soccer game. Tenten's team was obviously happy she was playing for them; currently she was being attacked by them all in their happiness. A part of Masamune tensed and he scanned the other side of the slope – the soccer field was surrounded by a man-produced hill, but it was real grass – for Neji. The long haired brunette was no where in sight. He scowled.

"What'cha staaaaaarin' at hmm?" Yukimura asked again, leaning toward Masamune. Masamune bit his lip as he lifted an arm and shoved the other teen over. Yukimura "eek"ed as he collapsed onto his side.

"Like you actually care, you little punk," Masamune informed him, watching as Tenten tried to maneuver around a large boy. He was staying with her quite well, despite his fat. Tenten was not to be deterred by him though, and she kicked the ball through his legs before spinning around him and launching the ball into the air. The tallest teammate on her side tracked the ball, his eyes on the sky. He headed it into the goal, the goalie's fingertips skimming the ball.

"So crazy..." Masamune muttered, staring at Tenten again. She looked proud of herself. Yukimura sighed and stretched as he stood up.

"I should go help the other team. They have no idea how to block that crazy woman."

"Oi, Sanada what the hell?"

"Besides," Yukimura called over his shoulder as he jogged down the hill, "red's my color."

"The little scoundrel up to no good, baby?" a voice purred in Masamune's ear. He jumped a little before looking to his left at Hishashii.

"Yes the scoundrel is up to no good. And stop calling me baby."

"You gonna' make, sugar-lump?"

"... sugar-lump? _Sugar-lump?!_ _KOJYURO_!" Masamune demanded, glaring over his shoulder. Kojyuro pushed up onto his elbows, blinking his eyes sleepily.

"Hai?"

"What the _hell_ is with you and letting Hishashii give me _weird _nicknames?!"

"... you don't like them?" Kojyuro questioned, quirking an eyebrow at Masamune from where he reclined. Masamune scrunched up his nose in distaste only to have Hishashii tug on it. He batted her hand away and she laughed.

"Ugh! Seriously, Kojyuro! She's calling me sugar-lump now! That's just... _ugh Hishashii stop iiiiiiiit_!!"

Hishashii was relentless in her attack on Masamune. Her skilled fingers tapped away at his collarbone – where he was especially ticklish – and he collapsed backwards while trying to keep her away, laughter pouring out of his mouth.

"H-H-H-H-H-H-Hishash-sh-shii s-s-stop please! S-s-s-stop it!"

She cackled evilly and planted her hands against his shoulders. He wrapped his large hands around her wrists, gasping for air.

"Mwah hah! Poor baby! Here let me kiss you better."

"K-K_ojyuro!_" he yelped as Hishashii leaned in. Kojyuro was there quickly and yanked his girlfriend off of Masamune.

"H'okay, I think you've had enough fun for one day."

"Aw, Kou-jy!" Hishashii complained as he slung her over his shoulder, "no fair!"

"Yes, well, he doesn't need you to slobber on his face."

She gasped and whacked him on the back of his head, "slobber?! I do _not_ slobber, thank you very much."

"In moments of great passion you d – ow."

She had smacked him again. Masamune had managed to regain himself and he sat back up, fixing his shirt.

_'Crazy woman. Just how do you deal with her? Sheesh... you could've gotten yourself a more docile girl, Kojyuro,'_ Masamune inwardly complained, his eye straying back to the game on the field. Yukimura had taken over for the large kid, and his appearance had obviously startled Tenten. Masamune watched as she jumped away from Yukimura in surprise.

--

"Yo, Tenten! What's up?"

The long-haired brunette was much too cheerful to see her. Tenten jerked back in surprise.

"Yu-- _Yukimura?!_" she exclaimed, placing her foot on the ball. He eyed it then grinned at her.

"Long time no see."

"Well yeah but... what are you doing here?"

"Playing soccer, what does it look like?" he explained as he kicked the ball out from under her foot. She managed to regain control of it and sent it off to another teammate while Yukimura loomed over her from behind.

"I'm not gonna' go easy on you, unlike these softies," he warned in her ear. Tenten hoped that the shiver that just coursed through her body was in anticipation of the challenge, not because he was breathing on her neck. She turned around to jab him in the chest accusingly.

"Or maybe you just wanted to see Sakura again?"

His lips quirked up in a smirk and he backed off, "got my eyes on you, Tenten."

"Then you better keep 'em wide. I _will_ get past you."

"Only if you can knock me down," he threatened. She accepted the challenge with her eyes.

Yukimura, despite his height, was fast and sure-footed with the ball. Tenten did her best to stay with him, as he was determined to shake her off. Her reflexes caught him off guard but he passed the ball to a teammate seconds before she would have stolen it from him.

"Damn, you _are_ skilled," he commented before dodging around her and going straight to the net. Tenten cursed lightly and charged after him. It was like a competition was happening between them. When he had the ball she kept up with his speed as best she could. When she had the ball he read her movements as if his life depended on it. She had skill; he had speed.

_'And he's _fast_ for a tall kid too! Damn it...'_ she backpedaled and passed the ball off to the side, glaring at Yukimura. He stuck his tongue out at her and dashed after the teammate she'd passed the ball to. Tenten wasn't far behind him. There was no way she could keep him from barreling into the smaller boy unless she held him back physically. She remembered his earlier challenge: "only if you can knock me down".

She stuck her foot out to trip him, smirking at his surprised expression.

_'I win if I knock you down, right?'_

What she didn't expect was for him to grab her shoulder and nearly bring her down with him. Angered to see him straighten himself out, she grabbed his shoulders. He chuckled and they soon got into friendly a scuffle. He easily held her back, chuckling the entire time.

"You sure are funny, Tenten," he mused, giving her a very flirtatious look. She blushed, furious at herself for getting so flustered. If Neji was here, he would be dead by now.

Tenten's lunch period was drawing to an end, and she suspected that the same was for all the other students. Small groups of students were beginning to leave. Tenten was too busy watching them that she wasn't paying attention to what was happening on the field. First she heard a yell and seconds later found herself slammed against the ground, Yukimura on top of her.

"Gee, that was close."

"... huh?" she asked in a daze when he commented, "damn, my hand really hurts... shit..."

"What? Your hand? Where?"

"Behind your head."

"Well, get off me so I can look at it," Tenten demanded worriedly, lifting her head a bit. Yukimura tapped his forehead against her collarbone.

"I would so totally get off of you but um... I don't think your skirt would agree with me."

Tenten looked at him only to find his face centimeters from his. He had a sheepish expression on.

"I would also move my arm, but then your leg wouldn't quite like that."

"... _oh_," Tenten turned beet red. In the tumble her skirt must have caught on something and ridden up. Yukimura then turned his head to the side.

"OI! SAKURA! Could you come here for a minute?"

Sakura came rushing over, "what is it? Do you need help getting up."

"No um... move in front of my arm will you? Tenten's skirt doesn't wish to cooperate with me."

"OH."

Tenten's face got redder as Sakura did some tugging. Yukimura carefully pulled his hand out from behind her head and pushed off the ground.

"Phew! It's not as bad as I thought," he muttered, inspecting his hand. Tenten jumped to her feet and grabbed his forearm so she could look at his hand. The back was terribly bruised. Eyes wide, she looked down at the ground where her head had been.

_'That rock... could have put me out for a while...'_

"Thanks..."

"No problem. Hi, Naruto," he then said, not without hostility. The grin on his face was very fake. Tenten looked at Naruto, who had wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist and pulled her tightly against his body.

"Hi, Yukimura," he said in the same tone as the taller boy. They stared at each other and grinned like maniacs until someone from across the field yelled to Yukimura.

"Sanada! Time to go!"

Tenten's heart jumped several times in her chest. She looked across the field to see Masamune turned toward them, preparing to depart with his classmates. His eye flicked to look at her. She gave him a wave. He smirked, and returned the gesture.

_'He's... so handsome – ER NEJI! Yes, Neji. Neji is handsome,'_ she absently twiddled her thumbs and looked at Yukimura again.

"Be careful with that hand, alright?"

"Yeah sure. See you ladies around," he waved and trotted off. When he got to Masamune he told him something. Rage seeped into Masamune's face, along with bright waves of red. Yukimura ran away screaming something about his mother. Masamune wasn't far behind him.

"_SANADAAAA!"_

Sakura pulled on Tenten's arm, "come on, Tenten, let's go."

"Ah, hai, hai," she tore her eyes away from the two boys.

_'Masamune sure is fast. He caught up to Yukimura so easily,' _she shuddered, _'there's no way anyone can get away from him.'_

--

Masamune decided that there was something wrong with his friends. He was the only one on his way to the soccer field, and it was a damned _Friday_. He snorted, _'since I'm the only one with no classes at the end of the day, I get to go home early. Che.'_

He sighed, kicking a rock that just happened to be in his path. He got lonely sometimes, with everyone having their classes and him going to his large apartment to be alone. Like he was everyday.

_'Of course, if I hadn't run off on my own it wouldn't be like this... but I don't think I'd trade what I have now for what I had. What I have now is better than the shit I had before.'_

His foot nicked another rock and he watched it as the stone tumbled into a drain trench. He continued on his quest. Maybe he should have stayed in the computer room after all.

_'But nooo, I let Yukimura convince me to come down here... gees... I can be so gullible sometimes...'_

As he arrived at the soccer pitch he saw someone take a nasty fall. Quickly the person was surrounded by others. Whoever it was had ribbon in their hair.

_'Ribbon...! Tenten!'_

He dashed over, "oi, what happened?"

One of the boys looked up at him, pale faced, "I didn't mean to! I tripped her and now her ankle's sprained!"

Masamune blew a breath out of his mouth, "I'll take her to her school."

"Eh?!"

"I know her."

"M-Masamune?" Tenten's strained voice was heard then. He looked down at her and wanted to kick the guy that tripped her. She was clearly in a lot of pain, tears gathering in her eyes but not spilling over.

"Come on, Ten," he said gently, kneeling down. She reached toward him and latched onto his shoulder. He nearly smirked; he had no intention of letting her walk.

Quickly he scooped her up in his arms.

"H-Hey!" she exclaimed when he stood. He grinned at her.

"What, you thought I was gonna' let you walk?"

Her face turned red, "I – I can walk!"

"Forget it. I'm carrying you whether you like it or not."

"Ugh!"

His eye scoured the hill he was facing. He didn't see anyone else from her school. A group of boys rushed past him, searching for something. Masamune looked down at her blushing face.

"Hey, where's Sakura?"

"Sakura? Oh... they went back to the school already. I wanted to finish the game first..." she admitted, looking away. Masamune wasn't very amused. The group that had run by him came running back.

"Here's your bag, Tenten."

"Thanks Shaun," she muttered, gathering her bag up in her arms.

"Off we go!" Masamune announced, walking in the direction of Tenten's school. Most of their journey was in silence. Tenten was clinging to her bag stubbornly, Masamune noticed.

_'Heh, she thinks I'm going to take it from her.'_

Up ahead was a worried looking brunette. Masamune recognized Neji after a moment.

"Neji!" he called. Tenten's face reddened.

Neji looked up, relief fluttering over his face, "oh, Tenten! And Masamune. Thanks," he smiled. Masamune smiled back.

"Couldn't exactly let her come back to school on her own, now could I?"

Neji laughed, "come on, I'll take you to the nurses' office. Then I've gotta' run to class. She's in the same class as me next, so I'll give you directions."

"Oh? Nice."

Masamune glanced down at Tenten; she looked embarrassed and worried now. His brow furrowed.

_'Worried about what? There isn't anything she needs to worry about. Is there?'_

Glancing at her foot told him he should follow after Neji more quickly. He was at a reception desk, getting something.

"Here, Masamune. Because you aren't in our school."

"A visitor pass? Che," Masamune quirked an eyebrow at Neji, "um, I can't exactly grab it."

"Oh! Right. Here," Neji put it around Masamune's neck, then beckoned, "this way to the nurse."

"Hurry, Neji-kun! Or you'll be late for class," the lady behind the desk said. Her roving eyes didn't escape Masamune's notice. He ignored it and walked into the nurses' office after Neji.

"Oh my! What happened?" the nurse demanded as Masamune lay Tenten down on the closest cot.

"I was playing soccer and twisted my ankle," Tenten informed her flatly. Neji snatched her bag from her.

"Ah, Neji -!"

"I'm gonna' go up to class, Tenten. I'll take your bag with me okay?"

"All right..."

Masamune watched Neji go suspiciously, then he leaned against the wall behind him, watching as the nurse treated Tenten's ankle then wrapped it up. The bell rang and Tenten groaned.

"It's okay, I'll write you a note," to Masamune she said, "you'll take her upstairs right? I don't want her putting weight on this ankle."

"'Course I'm taking her up."

"Good. Her classroom is on the second floor. I'm assuming you'll tell him which classroom to go to?" the nurse asked Tenten, giving her a look. Tenten nodded glumly.

_'Gee, what's she so depressed about?'_ the nurse was busily scribbling on a piece of paper. She gave it to Tenten.

"All set. You can take her up now."

"Hai," Masamune lifted her up from the bed. He headed to the stairs, glancing down at Tenten several times. Suddenly she looked up at him.

"What about your classes?!"

"Me? Classes? What are you blabbering about!" he grinned down at her, "I don't _have_ any this afternoon. So you've got nothing to worry about, you see?"

She was convinced, but when he was about to go up the last flight of stairs to the second level she started struggling.

"Put me down. I can walk."

"Hell no."

"Hell _yes_. Put me _down_, Masamune."

A vein in his head most likely popped, _'fine, you gonna' be stubborn, I'll be stubborn. I'll _scare_ you into letting me carry you.'_

He turned on the stair he was on, sideways, so that a wall was in front of him. He set her down but grabbed her injured leg and held it up; he leaned toward her threateningly. She pushed her hands against his shoulders.

"Sure, fine, I'll set you down, but I'm not letting you put any weight on this leg. You can walk right? Go on."

Her cheeks were red. In a huff she turned her head to the side, "I can't exactly walk if you're holding onto my leg!"

"And you can't put any weight on it," he hissed back. He shuffled forward almost pressing against her.

"Don't be so freaking stubborn and just let me carry you, _damn it_," he growled. She was staring up at him now. She didn't look scared, but her expression made his breath quicken. He could kiss her. He _would_ if he wasn't careful. Maybe he should.

_'Yeah, maybe I should kiss her and totally destroy any chances I would have otherwise. That would be the stupidest thing I could do but... these lips...'_ he dragged his thumb over them, feeling her breath hitch, _'so tempting.'_

"All right, all right. I'll stop being so stubborn. Carry me."

Glad for the distraction, Masamune easily picked her back up and resumed his walk up the stairs. He heard a loud yell after three steps down the hall and looked down at Tenten.

"Hear that? That's Naruto. Just follow his voice."

"You got it," Masamune obliged, following the voice at a mild pace. He stopped in front of the door where Naruto's voice was loudest; he could also see the blonde through the window. He was soon bombarded by paper balls coming from the front of the classroom. Laughter broke out.

"Yeah, this is the room. Here, let me knock."

"Nah, I'll use my foot."

"Your foot!?"

"Yep," he kicked the door three times. He didn't kick it very hard, but his kicks were loud enough to make the class settle down. A voice from inside called, "come in."

Masamune looked at Tenten, "er..." then he hefted her up in one arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck and head, her stomach almost touching his neck. Her face was bright red. Masamune slid open the door and watched several mouths drop open. The teacher paled.

"Special delivery," Masamune announced before saying to Tenten, "duck."

She was scowling now, face redder with embarrassment. He walked into the classroom and looked around for Neji. Neji was trying not to laugh as he waved Masamune over.

"Ah," Masamune tossed Tenten lightly into the air and caught her in his arms again. She nearly kicked him in the head and he gave her a sheepish look. Through the murmuring of the students he heard her say, "show off."

Down the aisle he went to deposit Tenten into her chair. Then he took the slip of paper from her – she didn't struggle with him, thankfully – and gave it to the teacher.

"Yeah, so I'll be going now. Bye," he waved to the class with a wink at Tenten, which she blatantly ignored. He chuckled as half the girls said bye and the more shy ones waved back. Then he exited the classroom.

_'She so hates me right now,'_ he thought to himself, grinning.

--

Tenten refused to look at her classmates. The room was dead silent save for their quick breaths. Kakashi, their teacher, suddenly sighed and walked over to his desk.

"I realize that I won't have half of your attention for the next five minutes. I permit you to gossip about the attractive young man that has just left the classroom for five minutes," he flipped open his perverted, Icha Icha book and waved a hand at the class, "begin chatting."

Immediately more than half the girls exploded out of the classroom to go outside into the open hallway. Tenten tightened her hands into fists. Neji noticed and chuckled.

"Embarrassed Tenten? You should be thankful Masamune was there. You could have made your ankle worse by walking on it, you know?"

"I know, Neji, I know but... look, it's not the fact that he carried me that's bugging me. It's _that_," she gestured outside to all the girls, who were squealing about something. Sakura had gone with them and now she was ahead of the pack as they came back inside. She got to Tenten first and hurriedly explained the girls' squealing.

"He noticed the girls, looked up and did a little salute type wave with two fingers and grinned before heading on his way," the pinkette was almost trampled by the other girls.

"Tenten! Who _is_ he? Can you hook us up?"

"Hey, I was going to ask that!!"

"Too bad I asked first!"

"Whatever with you two! He's hot. How'd you guys meet?"

"What school is he from?"

"Do you know where he lives?"

"Do know his number?! How about his email? OH MY GAWD! What's his name!?"

Tenten had no idea what to say or which question to answer first.

_'W-why the heck do they care so much?!'_

Neji was, thankfully, getting very frustrated. He stood abruptly, "look, leave my _girlfriend_ alone! He's probably too old for half of you anyway."

He had put the extra emphasis on "girlfriend" for a reason. Some girls started complaining while most scowled at Neji. Kiba then walked up and pouted at them.

"Oh come on, girls. Are you saying that some of us aren't hot?"

"Compared to that guy? Um, _yeah_, some of you _aren't_. Neji's an exception, but he's taken," one girl replied to Kiba's question. This made his pout deepen. Kakashi couldn't have picked a better time to start the class discussion again.

"All right, time's up! Get back in your seats and stop asking Tenten such ridiculous questions. Pay attention now, because next week we'll be going on a field trip down to the history museum..."

Tenten didn't hear much about what Kakashi was saying. Her thoughts had instead turned to what had occurred in the stairwell.

Masamune's breath on her face, body pressed close, hand cupping her thigh... his threatening pose and that look in his eye. And when he'd dragged his thumb over her lips she thought and half-hoped that maybe, just maybe, he would kiss her. But of course she spoke out, like the devoted girlfriend she was, and distracted him. He had appeared relieved at the distraction.

_'But now that that's happened... just what does it mean?'_ she wondered worriedly, staring out the window until Kakashi called on her to answer question ten. She quickly pulled out her notes and gave her answer.

* * *

Oh noes, Tenten! Just what are you thinking? ;3


	4. Chapter 4

OMG GUYS WHAT'S THIS? ARRE'S UPDATING HER CROSS-OVER?

Yes. Yes I am. Be afraid. I switch between Sakura, Tenten and Masamune for this chapter... urgh yeah, but this idea actually works for what I had in mind originally!

Props to Destorm on Youtube for posting some funny videos of him and his friends hurting themselves/exercising at a place called... oh well damn, I forget :/ Anyway, inspiration is from those videos, you can check them out on his channel on Youtube (DestormTV). The course is the same as the one depicted in the video. OH THE PLACE IS CALLED "- Free Running Academy" I think XD

Enjoy!

Countervail should be updated soon, as should Closing in. I promise. Really I do!

* * *

**Chapter 4: That wasn't necessary!**

Sakura whistled to herself as she pulled on her sneakers. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and glanced into the mirror on the door of the locker she was using.

_'I... look so bad in these clothes,' _she sighed, flicking her bangs,_ 'but I'd rather wear this outfit when I'm working out. Not that I really work out all the time... Tenten is the one who does all that,' _she leaned around her locker, looking for her friend.

"Tenten?"

"Yeah I'm coming. You ready?" Tenten had just walked around some locker banks; the locker she was using was around on the other side.

Sakura followed Tenten out into the gym, wondering to herself why she even bothered coming if she didn't even use any of the mats or machines that they had set out. She was content watching Tenten, though, as well as checking out the men that came around.

_'And I still check out guys even though I have Naruto,'_ she sighed, wondering when she had become so horrible to Naruto. First she had dated Sasuke and that hadn't worked out at all – he was too stoic for her, and over the years the kind Sasuke she had thought she'd fallen in love with had changed into... someone she didn't know. Their relationship had lasted a whopping three weeks.

_'Naruto chose a pretty good time to ask me out – no, a perfect time, really. He let me be until grade 10, and didn't ask me out on a real date until summer. He'd gone to so much trouble to find out my plans, making sure I would be here,'_ she laughed to herself, watching Tenten lift some weights. Suddenly feeling left out, she scurried over to her friend.

"You think I can lift any of these?"

Tenten laughed loudly, though she quickly stifled the sound, "Sakura! You have natural strength. These weights are too light for you. Try the... eighty-fives. Those might be a challenge and you'll feel it later," Tenten smiled at Sakura when she frowned; Tenten was lifting seventy-fives.

"Okay," Sakura turned around and picked up one of the eighty-fives. It certainly was heavy, but it wasn't something she couldn't handle. She faced Tenten again and pouted.

"It's... a nice weight."

"For you it is," Tenten corrected, "for me it's too much."

"Even with toned arms like that?" Sakura asked, gesturing to Tenten's biceps with her free hand. Tenten nodded her head.

"Don't forget that I'm a soccer player, Sakura. You're the one who's good at volleyball and baseball; those two sports require more strength in the arms than legs. As for me, you know I'm best at any sport that includes running. I have stronger legs," she finished with a shrug, turning her head to the left before perking up. Sakura followed her friends gaze as she switched the weight to her left hand.

"Hey girls, why don't you come downstairs? The boys have set up a course in the gym. We've got all sorts of groups down there; that's why it's so empty up here," he laughed the last part and Sakura glanced back at Tenten, _'he must have read the question in her face.'_

"Well -"

"You can get a good work out from it," he insisted. Sakura put the weight she was holding back in place, giving the receptionist a suspicious look.

"You seem to _really_ want us to come down."

"Hey, you know Tenten's popular here 'cause she's strong. There's guys down there that have been wanting to see if you can do any flips or wall-runs. Just come down! They set up a Mario course. It'll be fun!"

Sakura exchanged a look with Tenten; the latter sighed and placed her weights back on the rack.

"All right, we'll come. But you have no ulterior motive?"

"Nope," he assured Tenten with a smile.

When they reached the gym on the ground floor, Sakura couldn't help but think that the receptionist did have an ulterior motive; she recognized Yukimura immediately and dragged Tenten to the side before he could turn around and find that they were at the same gym.

"Oh _Kami _Tenten that's Yukimura. Yukimura, is here," she whispered viciously. Tenten's eyes grew wide.

"Then that means -"

"That means," Sakura was getting excited now, "if Yukimura is here, Masamune probably is too! And maybe even some of those other guys we haven't met yet. Oh come on Tenten, look at that back. Oooh he has such a nice back."

"Sakura... Naruto..." Tenten said, her expression unimpressed. Sakura sighed.

"I know, Tenten, but objectively speaking?"

Tenten hesitated before looking out from behind the wall. She puffed up her cheeks but spoke the words Sakura wanted to hear, "yes, he has a very nice back."

"You chicks chekin' out Sanada?" the voice had the touch of an accent; it was decent but Sakura and Tenten were startled. Sakura whipped around, making the man behind her mutter "ow" as her hair whipped him in the face.

"Um-! Oh! You must... Motochika, right?" Sakura recognized him as the one who got her involved in a rather hilarious Facebook message discussion about Yukimura and his feelings for her. The brunette had denied it all rather vehemently, complete with all capital letters.

"Damn right I'm Motochika! So...?" he made a pushing gesture with his hands, clearly wondering why the two girls weren't already on the course. Tenten frowned.

"Is Masamune here?"

"Yep! So's Akechi, Katakura – those two would be the guy with long silver hair over there," Sakura looked where he pointed, at a wall that this Akechi was currently running up, "and the slick, buff guy watching Kasuga, that's Katakura. F- gees, I didn't know he was _that _buff," Sakura giggled at Motochika; he gave her a sheepish grin.

_'That Katakura's well built... nice muscles on him...'_ she noticed that Kasuga appeared to be showing him some kind of routine; Sakura didn't know what for, but he seemed nervous, with the way he licked his lips and looked away once before Kasuga got mad at him and repeated the whole thing. Sakura gave her attention back to Motochika when she realized he was still talking.

"Ieyasu is chillin' over there; we're takin' a break. I don't know where Date's at though. Yo, Yukimura! Floor move!" Motochika yelled. Yukimura glanced over his shoulder; Sakura's heart jumped when he grinned. He did a handstand, winking at her and sticking his tongue out at Tenten before shaking his legs and walking backwards on his hands. He did a hand-spring back into a standing position and raised his arms into the air.

"Come at me bro!" he called to Motochika, dead-serious; Motochika charged him. Sakura laughed at their antics – they were lazily hitting each other on the shoulders - though she noticed that Tenten was stock still.

"Tenten, don't be so tense! They're just messing around," Sakura tilted her head; Tenten wasn't paying attention to her, "Tenten?"

_'What's wrong with – oh. She's spotted Masamune,'_ Sakura released a frustrated snort and grabbed Tenten's arm.

"S-Sakura!"

"Look, Tenten. _Just_ because they're here doesn't mean that we have to, you know, talk to them. They're, just, here. And look, everyone else is having a good time! So come on; let's just go have a good time!"

* * *

_'And now she's having a good time,' _Sakura yawned from where she sat on a high bar in above the middle of a pool of blue foamy cubes. Across from her Tenten was with the guys – and girl – from Basara high.

_'I mean, I can tell she's attracted to Masamune and that makes her nervous because she already has Neji... at least she's a better girlfriend than me. I need to be, like, totally kept away from Yukimura. Especially after he taught me how to do a back flip earlier,' _she recalled the sensation of Yukimura briefly putting his right hand on her lower back while his left hand went under her thigh, helping her do the flip correctly. She shivered at the thought.

Motochika did a dramatic belly flop off the top of the tall box just then and Sakura giggled. Masamune was up next, but he did an elegant tumble, like divers diving into a pool at the Olympics. Mitsuhide – so Sakura had found was his first name – amazed her by doing a triple back flip after Masamune had struggled out of the foam cubes.

"What's the hardest part?" she yelled to Mitsuhide. He looked up at her and yelled back, "getting out!"

She laughed at that – she hadn't been in the cubes yet, so she would only half believe him. She looked back up at the box adjacent to her, seeing that Motochika and Masamune had climbed back up and were now attempting to persuade Tenten to have a go. She was shaking her head; Kasuga proceeded to do a cartwheel and then handspring off the very edge of the box, managing a somersault before landing in the foam cubes. Sakura's mouth dropped open in awe.

"Wow..." she found herself whispering, _'she's really athletic. I wonder where she learned to do that.'_

Kojyuro fell into Sakura's line of sight and burst out of the foam, glaring up at someone on the box. Sakura jerked her head up at the sound of boisterous laughter and she deduced that Masamune had just pushed Kojyuro off the box – a feeling he soon felt himself as Yukimura snuck up behind him and yelled, "THIS, IS, _SPARTAA!_" before kicking Masamune in the back.

"_FUCK YOU!_" Masamune cried as he fell into the foam; Yukimura laughed evilly, which caused Sakura to sputter with contained laughter. She didn't really want to fall off of the pole she was on.

Tenten was finally convinced to simply jump off the top of the box by Mitsuhide; she did a belly flop into the foam. Kojyuro had to help her get out.

_'She looks really tired,' _Sakura shook her head, _'but she would be. She's been trying everything since she got comfortable.'_

Suddenly Sakura found herself falling backwards; reflexively she locked her knees around the pole she was sitting on.

"Oh shit!" someone down below hollered. The blood rushed to Sakura's head, but the pain in her back distracted most of her attention.

"Ow, ow, ow," she muttered, tears pricking at her eyes. She must have sprained her back with the way her muscles had tensed up.

"Ow, ow, ow..." she repeated. Sakura knew she should let go of the pole but she couldn't unlock her legs.

"Sakura! Sakura are you all right?" Tenten called to her frantically.

"I – I think I sprained my back," she managed to call back, her voice choked.

"Kojyuro, go save her!" Masamune yelled; movement out of the corner of her eye caught Sakura's attention. Kojyuro was already climbing up the ladder to the pole in all his bare-chested glory.

_'Focus on his chest, his chest. Not the pain,' _Sakura told herself as he easily swung over to her.

"Can you move?" he asked softly, holding onto the bar with one hand and raising her head just enough so she could think clearly. Her back throbbed with pain.

"I th-think so."

"All right, see if you can get your arms around my neck," with his hand slowly moving down her back for support, Sakura managed the normally easy feat.

"Hang on as tight as you can, okay? I need this hand to get your legs down," she did as she was told, holding him tightly.

'_I like his smell. Sweaty but with a touch of spice. He must use Axe,'_ she marveled at how he managed to maneuver himself underneath her legs, pushing her right leg up and over the bar. It hurt, but Sakura bit her lip against the pain. It was her own fault for not just letting herself fall off the bar and into the foam cubes.

"Sakura."

She lifted her head from his neck, "hm?" he still hadn't moved her left leg.

"When I push that leg off we're going down, just to warn you. Don't worry, those foam cubes are softer than they look."

Sakura nodded her head, pressing her forehead against his neck, "whenever you're ready."

Kojyuro said nothing but soon Sakura felt the free-falling sensation; it was brief. Moments later she found herself lied out on her stomach on a mat, a worried Tenten at her side.

"Sakura?"

"I'm okay, Tenten. I just – I should've let myself fall," she felt a hand on her back, pressing down firmly.

"You _should_ have let yourself fall, but what you did was out of reflex. You weren't prepared for that and your body reacted accordingly," Kojyuro informed her, "it's not that bad, by the way. You just need to relax for a bit."

"I'm good with that," Sakura smiled, closing her eyes, "I'm tired anyway."

Her comment startled laughter out of the people around her.

"_You're_ tired?" that was Masamune - "Ten's the one out of you two that has any right to feel tired."

"Ten?" Tenten demanded, "did you just call me Ten?"

Sakura didn't know why it bothered her so much suddenly; Masamune had been calling Tenten "Ten" for a while now.

"Yeah I did, Ten, what're you gonna' do about it? Come on then, let's wrestle!" Sakura opened her eyes to see that Tenten had taken the bait and was wrestling with Masamune. He had longer arms, however, putting Tenten at a disadvantage. Motochika cheered her on.

"Come on, Tenten, use them legs of yours! Yeah!"

"Serves him right," Sakura heard Kojyuro mutter as Tenten managed to knock Masamune down – he pulled her down on top of him though, which made Tenten go rigid.

"Whoops," Masamune said in an obviously unapologetic voice; to Sakura, the comment sounded almost flirtatious.

"You_ so_ did that on purpose," Sakura berated him, pointing. Masamune frowned and Tenten walked away from him after she got up, sitting down on Sakura's left. Kasuga came over and crouched down near Kojyuro, her knees hugged to her chest.

"Hey, Katakura, where's Hishashii?"

_'Hishashii?'_ Sakura thought, noticing that the name had also caught Tenten's attention, _'who's that?'_

"You two are usually together but I haven't seen her around much. Did... something happen?"

Kojyuro was being mysteriously quiet and Sakura thought he wasn't going to respond when he mumbled, "we broke up."

"_EHHH?_" Kasuga exclaimed, prompting Kojyuro to clamp his hand over her mouth. She fell back onto her butt because of his action.

"She moved back to the States. Neither of us think we can do LD, so we broke up, Yama," his voice had returned to its normal, almost angry tone. Kasuga glared at him and slapped his hand down, then stood abruptly and stalked away.

"Aw, Kojyuro! You just _had_ to go and piss her off didn't you?" Masamune sounded like he was berating Kojyuro; Kojyuro rubbed the back of his neck, lowering his head.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," Sakura said, getting his attention, "and um... what's with calling her 'Yama'?" she nodded at Kasuga.

"Yama Kasuga. That's her name," Kojyuro shrugged, "you've noticed, haven't you? The majority of us refer to each other by the last name. Yama's like that too."

"Huh you did it again," Masamune muttered, "right! Let's call it a night huh? You girls wanna' come with?" Masamune had plunked himself down in front of Tenten.

"Oh?" Sakura sat up carefully; her back had finally stopped hurting, "come with you where?"

"For supper, what else," Masamune smirked, "unless you gotta' be home by a certain time."

Tenten thrust her palm at Masamune's shoulder, "I'm _sure_ you're responsible enough to get us home by at _least_ one am. My mom's not too strict."

"Neither is mine," Sakura added, shrugging, "she says I'm getting to that age where I don't always wanna' listen to her, so she's been letting me stay out late. What time is it anyway?"

"Seven thirty. We've been here since it opened this morning, but they only set this course up at around, what?" Kojyuro looked at Masamune, "one?"

"Yeah, probably one. Anyway, let's go get some foooood. I'm starved," Masamune jumped to his feet and held his hands out to Sakura and Tenten.

Sakura giddily grabbed one of his hands and he pulled her up; Tenten hesitated but after a glare from Sakura she grabbed Masamune's hand. He grinned and began dragging her off, his hand clamped around hers.

"M-Masamune! Let go!"

"Aw hell no."

"Hell _yes_!" Tenten snapped. Masamune pulled her against his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't be so cold, Ten," Sakura couldn't make out the next phrase he said, but it calmed Tenten down. Yukimura appeared on Sakura's right, leaning down to her height.

"Hey pinky."

"_Don't_ call me that," she snapped, playfully batting at his shoulder. He chuckled, mimicking Masamune and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I won't. Just teasing you. How's Naruto?"

The question caught Sakura off-guard with the way that it dripped with malice. It made Sakura think that Yukimura was jealous.

"He's been doing good. Worrying about a test we have next week though, so I need to help him study for it. I mean, it's not like he's a dunce, it's just... a subject he's not good at," she added, feeling she would need to defend Naruto from Yukimura if she didn't mention that last bit. Yukimura shrugged.

"We all have something we're bad at," he agreed. The two fell silent until they reached the doors; Yukimura seemed to realize something.

"Hey, you came from upstairs right? You got stuff up in the lockers?"

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed before rushing over to Masamune, "sorry, Masamune. We have to get our stuff from upstairs so I need to steal her from you."

"Fine, fine," he muttered, looking rejected as he pulled his arm away from her shoulders. Tenten seemed to relax after he released her. This made Sakura pout.

_'He just trying to be friendly,' _she shook her head at herself as she and Tenten hurried up the stairs to the lockers on the second floor, _'no, no he's flirting with her. He's totally flirting with her. I swear, all the guys at Basara high are huge flirts.'_

"I wish he would stop flirting with me," Tenten muttered once they were in the locker room. Sakura sighed.

"Tenten, when a guy likes a girl he flirts with her."

"Then that must mean Yukimura likes you," Tenten retorted, appearing around the lockers again with her bag in hand, "don't bother changing, Sakura."

"Aww, but -"

"I'm not changing, and I'm more sweaty than you are," Tenten pointed out, making Sakura purse her lips and glare at her. Tenten smiled.

"Fine, fine, I won't change," Sakura removed the rest of her things from her locker, opening up her phone, "I'll just text my mom and tell her I'm going out for supper. Oh! I wonder if we have enough cash for supper..."

"Maybe the guys will pay for us," Tenten suggested, a cheeky smile touching her lips. Sakura slapped Tenten on the shoulder after she had sent her text message to her mom, shoving her phone back in her bag.

"You're so _bad_, Tenten. You actually suggested taking advantage of his affection for you."

Tenten turned beat red and hurried ahead of Sakura, "n-never mind! I have enough for supper, so I can pay myself!"

Sakura laughed, _'hah! I've got her flustered now! Though I really can't believe she suggested that.'_

The boys and Kasuga were chilling at the entrance to the gym; Yukimura spotted Sakura and Tenten and herded the group outside. Sakura trotted ahead of Tenten.

She hadn't expected Yukimura to be waiting right outside and capture her in his arms though; she released a surprised scream, eliciting laughter out of everyone else.

Tenten hesitantly walked over to Kasuga; Sakura joined the other girls once Yukimura had put her down. She pouted over her shoulder at him; he was rubbing the back of his head, where she had punched him.

"That really scared me you know!" she snapped at him. He put up one hand in surrender.

"I'm sorry! But gees, you're really strong."

Sakura puffed up her cheeks and started towing Tenten and Kasuga away from the boys.

"Um, Haruno-san," that was Kasuga talking to her. Sakura stopped her towing, "what?"

"We're going _that_ way," the blonde pointed behind her at the boys. When Sakura looked at them she turned red; they all had their cheeks puffed up except for Kojyuro, who was shaking his head.

"O-oh," she stuttered, embarrassed enough to hide behind Tenten.

* * *

Masamune stared at Tenten; Tenten stared at him. He was sitting on a bench in the park their group had migrated to after eating supper and Tenten was standing near a closed kiosk; her eyes kept flicking in the direction that Yukimura and Sakura had gone for their walk.

_'Walk my ass,'_ Masamune sighed, getting Tenten's attention, _'and she. She doesn't trust me at all.'_

The two had ended up alone in the middle of the park because of Motochika and his big mouth. He had flapped his mouth about seeing Kenshin with another girl and Kasuga had stormed off.

Kojyuro had then gone after her – though that was really Masamune's fault – and Mitsuhide had been quick to follow after Kojyuro. Motochika flitted around for a bit, guilt dominating his features before he also went, muttering something about needing to apologize to Kasuga and amend the situation since it was his fault she was upset. Ieyasu had already gone home.

To make matters worse – especially for Tenten, who was already worried about Kasuga despite not knowing about the situation between the blonde and her boyfriend – Yukimura and Sakura decided to go on a little walk together, just down the path and not too far.

That's how Masamune and Tenten had ended up alone; she had been prepared to go storming after the two others but Masamune had stopped her when he said, "if he was up to something I would have noticed already."

_'And that's the end of that. Now we're here alone and the tension's so high it's killing me. I haven't been keeping my cool at all... what, with my flirting and everything,'_ he shook his head, glancing down the path, _'I don't really have the right to say anything about it; not today. Not with the way I've been acting.'_

Masamune had always been the one to berate Yukimura about his pursuit for Sakura; today was one of those days where it wasn't Masamune's place. He had been flirting with Tenten, after all, even though she had a boyfriend as well.

"... why didn't you say anything?" Tenten suddenly demanded. Masamune bit his lip; he didn't want to be blunt about his interest in her. It had been too long since he had been interested in a girl and then Tenten had to come hurtling into his life.

"It ain't my place today," he replied. Tenten sighed and Masamune looked at her.

"Look, Ten. Why can't you just trust that Sakura will come to her senses and stop anything before it happens?"

"Because I _know_ her! And stop calling me Ten!" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Masamune frowned.

"Make me," he challenged, also crossing his arms, "_make_ me stop calling you Ten."

Her lips tightened over her teeth and before she could speak Masamune smirked and said, "you're being too tense about it, you see? Your problem is that if someone challenges you to do something you feel obliged to do it. I'm just teasing you."

She visibly relaxed – _'good,'_ Masamune thought, _'tension's down now. That's always good.'_

"You're right... I do have a bad habit of doing that..." she glanced at the bench and Masamune gave her a look.

"If you wanna' sit down, come sit down. Do I look like Yukimura to you?"

His comment made her laugh and she walked over, sitting next to him on the bench. He noticed her eyes were drooping.

"Damn, you look really tired, Ten."

She gave him a look, but to his surprise didn't call him out on calling her 'Ten' again. She simply replied, "that course was quite a work out. Know when they'll be setting it up again?"

"Huh? Mm... maybe tomorrow, but we don't know if it will actually be the same course. They've been doing that Mario one for about two months already, so it's about time for a change."

At this Tenten frowned, "that course it fun though."

"Yeah I know. Too bad they didn't tell you about it earlier. We're down there every other day when we have time. I mean, we as a group."

"Who else usually comes?" Tenten asked, curious now. Masamune grinned.

"Ishida usually comes; Sarutobi too. And when they feel like it, Maede and Toyotomi come down too. Sometimes it's the whole lot of us, and that's a lot of people," he informed her; she smiled.

"Doing something like that is always more fun in groups though," Tenten said, stretching her arms above her head. Masamune couldn't help staring at what little was exposed of her stomach, though he quickly made himself look away.

_'She looks good in sweats. And tank tops too. Too bad those sweats don't flatter her legs,'_ he grinned to himself, leaning forward on his knees. He could hear footsteps and Kojyuro appeared around the kiosk, followed shortly by the others who had been with him. Mitsuhide was keeping the still upset Kasuga a fair distance from Motochika.

Before Masamune could ask anything, Kojyuro looked up at him, an unimpressed look on his face.

"Masamune you... didn't give your parents your new number?"

Masamune's good mood immediately left him, replaced by a slowly growing anger, "my parents called you?"

His tone made Tenten look at him, her eyebrows drawn in and her lips in a frown.

"Yeah they did. They said they're in town," Kojyuro looked away; obviously he didn't want to be the one delivering the news, "they want to see you."

"I don't give a fuck what they want. You better not go telling them where I live. Did you tell them where I live?"

"O-of course not."

"Did you tell them my new number?"

"Well, sort of -"

"Sort of? _Sort of?_ What's _that_ supposed to mean, Kojyuro?" Masamune stood, his anger blinding him, "you mean you _told _them?"

Mitsuhide quickly stepped in front of Kojyuro, "Masamune, you're being unreasonable. They're your _parents_."

"I. Do not. Give a _fuck,_" Masamune snarled. He glanced at Tenten and upon seeing her stunned expression, he stormed away.

_'Shit,'_ he thought as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, noticing that he had three missed calls after putting it on silent.

_'Shit, shit, SHIT.'_

* * *

Masamune's outburst about his parents shocked Tenten.

_'Then... that Facebook conversation we had a month ago... what he meant when he said it depends on whether learning about-!'_ her thoughts stopped as she stared after him walking away; Mitsuhide debated inwardly about the situation and opted to go after Masamune instead of staying by Kasuga. The blonde huddled near Kojyuro, glaring at Motochika.

_'He doesn't have a good relationship with his parents... so he's always been here alone...'_ the thought made Tenten feel for him. She was alone most of the time as well, her mother too busy with the store and her father always away on business trips. Tenten's heart started beating faster as she recalled their conversation, especially Masamune's reply to her final question before he had gotten off Facebook.

"_Maybe in a month or so, I'll tell you."_

_'It's been a month,'_ she thought, oblivious to the fact that Sakura and Yukimura had returned from their walk, _'it's been a month, so that means I could get it out of him. I could get his past out of him. I -_'

"Tenten! Are you gonna' come home with me?" Sakura's question burst Tenten's thought bubble. She didn't know whether she had shaken or nodded her head, because Sakura gave her a very confused look.

"What was that? You know, I don't know what swiveling your head around in circles stands for," Sakura complained and Tenten couldn't help laughing. She got up from the bench, deciding to leave Masamune alone for now.

"Yeah I'll be coming with – SANADA YUKIMURA!" she exclaimed when he suddenly leaned down and turned Sakura's face towards his, kissing her chastely on the lips. He took off as Sakura stood there in stunned glee, and Tenten took off after him.

"Come back here you insolent wretch!" she screamed, chasing Yukimura around a tree and then back to the bench. She stopped at one end of it and he stopped at the other, breathing heavily.

"Damn you _are_ fast."

"You played soccer against me you should already know that," she snapped, trying to keep the smile off her face. He grinned and she dashed to his end of the bench only to have him dash to the she had been on.

"You have a point there. But – oooooooooooooooooh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit," Yukimura whimpered when an arm wrapped around his neck.

"Oi, Sanada... what did you do?" Masamune's voice was a low growl. Yukimura didn't say anything; he simply whimpered. Masamune continued to glare at him and Tenten frowned.

_'He's avoiding eye-contact with me,'_ she realized solemnly, watching as he towed Yukimura away towards the rest of their group, waving over his shoulder. Sakura hurried to Tenten's side and tugged on her sleeve.

"Come on, Tenten. We better get on our way home too."

"Yeah..." Tenten glanced over her shoulder one more time to look at Masamune's back, then let Sakura drag her away.

* * *

Drama Drama Drama~~


	5. Chapter 5

Damn I update fast don't I? So many stories so much to update still neglecting my original story hahahah!

Tension, drama, and what seems to be a random character appearance. It will make sense later, trust me. Oh and I was unsure of how to refer to the Sasukes, so in the middle part of this story I refer to Basara Sasuke as Sarutobi... and later on, I refer to him as Sasuke again. I swear, this is going to be the last chapter they're in together! (this is impossible to avoid. So that was a lie. ;_;)

* * *

**Chapter 5: Keep you coming back for more.**

Tenten was nervous as she got on the bus. After she had told Neji about the gym – leaving out the part when Yukimura pecked Sakura on the lips since Naruto was close-by – he had determined that she needed to take him and a bunch of her other friends to the gym.

_'And now it's come to this. Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, Temari, Konan, Hidan, Kisame, Itachi and Kiba are coming. Sakura is coming too, and obviously I'm going but,'_ she glanced at Kiba as he teased Hinata, pulling gently on her hair, _'Kiba is the one who started that fight that while ago. Ah, what's wrong with me! Yukimura isn't the type to hold grudges,'_ she tried to make herself calm down but she couldn't do it.

Kiba wasn't the real problem, she knew. Naruto was the problem. If he found out that Yukimura had pecked Sakura on the lips, he was going to explode and no one would be able to hold him back.

_'Kojyuro might be able to, with the help of Motochika and Kisame but... otherwise... I don't know what we'll do if he _does_ find out. No, no. I'll make sure he doesn't find out,'_ Tenten forced herself to relax. Soon she felt Neji's hand in hers and she smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"You looks exhausted Tenten," he murmured, his breath on her bangs, "what are you thinking about?"

"Well... ugh, I just can't keep it from you," she sat up, inwardly cringing when she saw Neji's worried expression, "but you can't tell Naruto. Promise me you won't."

He tilted his head at her, suspicious, "what is it?" he spoke in a quiet whisper. Naruto and Sakura only sat two rows back.

"Yukimura pecked Sakura on the lips," Tenten breathed, peeking over her seat to make sure Naruto wasn't paying attention. He was too busy nuzzling Sakura's head to notice. Tenten turned her attention back to Neji.

"I'm worried that if Naruto finds out heads will roll, but we know who would end up winning that fight," she bit her lip. She _had_ to tell somebody, as much as she would rather keep it a secret.

Neji simply nodded his head, "I understand. I'll keep it to myself. But, Tenten, if something else _does_ happen, I think it's best if you let Sakura and Naruto work it out, all right? I'll admit that I can see why Sakura is attracted to Yukimura."

"I know. I can see why too," Tenten admitted, sitting back in her seat. Neji sat back as well and soon Tenten was relaxing against his shoulder again.

"Perhaps it's fate," Neji muttered, smiling against Tenten's forehead when she giggled.

"Hey kid! Is this where we get off?" Kisame's voice roused Tenten from her light sleep. She bolted upright, looking around; it was definitely the spot.

"Yeah this is it!" she called to him. The large teen jumped up and hit the bell. Up in the front of the bus Tenten heard the driver sigh irritably as he slammed the breaks. Itachi and Hidan were just in time to grab Kisame and prevent him from falling over.

"All right ya'll, let's go!" Kisame hollered, getting the rest of the groups attention, "come on, come on! Move yer asses!"

"Yeah yeah we're coming big guy! Just get the fuck out of the fucking way," Hidan snapped, earning him a slap on the arm from Konan.

"How many times to I have to tell you to watch your mouth?" she scolded, "even when I was with N-"

"I know you like my dirty words, bitch," he cooed to her as they got off the bus. Tenten was sure Konan had just rolled her eyes, shoving Hidan's arm off her shoulders and proceeding ahead with Kisame. He held his arm out in a gentlemanly fashion and Konan took it, smirking over her shoulder at Hidan.

"Pff, and according to Nagato she doesn't even know how to do anything but frown," Tenten heard Hidan mutter as he kicked at the ground with a foot, pouting. Tenten giggled at the albino's plight; it had been hard enough for him to win Konan over, and it was even harder for him to keep her by his side.

_'Especially with Itachi and Kisame relentlessly pretending to steal her from him too,'_ Tenten laughed to herself, but felt Neji tugging at her hand. She looked up at him to see that he had a small smile on his lips.

"What is it?"

"Did you tell him we were coming? Because he and his friends are, well, _enthusiastically_ waving from the entrance."

Tenten gasped and looked at the entrance to the Academy, nearly groaning when she saw that Motochika and Yukimura were jumping up and down, waving both their arms in the air, even though Kojyuro and several others were attempting to hold them down.

"Hey! Hey! HEY! _Hey_! Heeeeeeeeeeeeey!" Yukimura's voice carried over all the other sounds as Tenten and her group dashed across the street, "that's a lot of people you got!"

"_We_ have a lot of people?" Ino exclaimed as they came to a stop in front of the other teens, "_you _guys have a lot of people too!"

"Well, yeah, I guess. Anyway, Tenten, Sakura, these ladies here are Magoichi and Tsuruhime," Yukimura gestured first to a red-head and then to the cute girl with a bob cut by her side. Magoichi nodded her head, offering a small smile and Tsuruhime grinned widely.

"This guy is Kotaro, and here we've got Toyotomi, Takenaka and Ishida," Masamune twisted around and Tenten tried to ignore the bit of chest that was exposed when he looked back at her, "Kasuga's already inside, in case you're wondering," he gave her a smirk, "I see you've brought your boyfriend."

Neji waved politely, "she's brought a lot of us, actually. These four are Itachi, Kisame, Hidan and Konan. You've already met Naruto, but here we have Sasuke, Kiba, Ino, Temari and my cousin Hinata."

"No shit, you guys have a Sasuke too?" Masamune gestured to the Sasuke standing next to him, "this here is Sarutobi Sasuke. Shit you guys are gonna' get so confused."

"Fucking confused, seriously," Hidan agreed, nodding his head. Both Sasukes laughed, which served to make the entire group laugh.

"Nah, I'm sure we'll be fine. You guys all call me Sarutobi anyway, except for Yukimura," Sasuke assured the group while turning around, "what's say we just go inside already? We've been standing out here for a while. N-not waiting for you guys! Waiting for others from our group. We just saw the bus pull up so we decided to wait."

"Oh, well, by all means! Let's go in. What kind of course they have up this time?" Kisame easily fit in with the other group. Hideyoshi – Tenten knew his first name from Facebook – threw an arm around his shoulders.

"It's a gymnastic type course, so Yama is definitely going to be showing off, being from our gymnastics team."

"And track team," Hanbei added.

"And soccer team," Masamune piped in, "not to mention she was playing basketball for a while. Oh and softball. And on top of that, uh – what else?" he looked at Yukimura for help.

"Volleyball," Yukimura said, "she's on the volleyball team this year too."

Tenten felt her jaw drop open, _'I knew she was athletic but to think she was _that_ athletic... I feel beat.'_

"What else do they have?" Ino piped in. Tenten didn't miss the glances she kept shooting at Sarutobi.

"Looks like eeeh they have a few walls set up for the wall runners, a few trampolines... and a few – yo, Date, what the heck are those?" Motochika was pointing to the bleachers.

"Dude those are bleachers," Masamune stated, like it was obvious.

"Yeah, I know they're bleachers but what are they doing there?" Tenten lost interest in the conversation and noticed that Hanbei was busily signing them all in. She quickly went to his side, followed closely by Neji.

"Hey, Hanbei-san, let me and Neji do that for our group," she offered. He looked at her, smiling sweetly.

"Hanbei is fine, Tenten. And it's all right, I have a membership so it's easier if I just sign in."

"O-oh, okay. Thanks," she awkwardly turned away; Neji squeezed her hand.

"Let's just try to enjoy our time here, all right? You aren't here to impress," Neji laughed when Tenten pouted at him, "you're here to have fun. I'm here to have fun. So, let's just have some fun."

Tenten nodded her head, smiling at her boyfriend, _'he always knows what to say to comfort me,'_ she mused, glancing at Masamune. He and his group were doing some warm-ups to the side. Kisame and Itachi had joined them, where as most of the guys from Tenten's school had gone right into somersaulting all over the place. Tenten brought her hand up to her face. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life.

Neji left Tenten's side when Naruto waved him over just as Ino came up on Tenten's right, looping her arms around Tenten's.

_'He probably knew that was going to happen and waited until Ino got close. Figures,'_ she pouted to herself before giving Ino her attention. The blonde looked nervous and Tenten grew worried.

"What is it Ino?"

"Hey, Ten um... isn't Yukimura the guy Kiba got in a fight with?"

"Yes, but I don't think there's anything to worry about. Besides, the guys are keeping their distance as it is," Tenten assured her friend, patting her on the head. Ino looked visibly relaxed.

"That's good to hear. Um, I hate to ask you this question but," she nodded her head at Sarutobi who was currently taking his shirt off, "single or taken?"

"Single, I think, but from what I've heard, he's heavily interested in Kasuga," Tenten replied, resisting the urge to start laughing. Ino frowned.

"Who's Kasuga?"

The urge to laugh rose in Tenten and she quickly sought out the other blonde, _'Ino hasn't sounded this jealous since Sakura and Sasuke got together!'_

While looking for Kasuga Tenten mused over how much Ino had changed since last year. The girl had gone from drooling over Sasuke at every turn to outright ignoring him after he broke up with Sakura. She and Sakura were still close after all, and Ino had been encouraged to give up on Sasuke because of what Sakura had told her abour him from the short time she had dated the stuck up teen.

_'He isn't as stuck up as he used to be, but still. I'm glad to see Ino's interest has been directed elsewhere,'_ she spotted Kasuga at the end of a row of mats, taking up a position that implied she was about to start a series of backwards hand-springs.

"There, that's Kasuga," Tenten informed Ino, pointing at her. As Ino turned her head to look the taller, more athletic girl proceeded to begin her hand-springs. She was quick, with a perfect form and reached the end of the mats in under four seconds, standing perfectly upright at the end. Tenten's jaw dropped open. She knew she wouldn't be getting over how athletic Kasuga was anytime soon.

Ino's arms dropped away from Tenten's, like she had just admitted defeat.

"I don't know if I can win against that. I mean, sh-she looks like such a pro. Damn it, I feel a little self-conscious now. Do you think he'd _ever_ look at me?" Ino's immediate admittance of her defeat made Tenten worry. Ino wasn't one to give up that quickly when a guy as attractive as Sarutobi was involved. Ino was staring between Sarutobi and Kasuga now, muttering to herself.

"Ino, you're really beautiful, all right?" Tenten said, attempting to comfort her friend. Ino squatted down on the mats, sighing.

"Yeah, but Kasuga looks good in a sports bra and _sweatpants._ I mean, there aren't many girls out there that look _that_ good in _sweatpants,_" she complained; Tenten frowned.

_'There's gotta' be something I can say to her that will get her mind off this. I mean, she hardly knows Sasuke yet so there's still the chance that he isn't even interested in her for the fact that, well, she makes sweatpants look good,'_ Tenten was about to tell Ino this when a shadow fell over the blonde.

"Damn, Kasuga's never looked this good," Tenten groaned at her luck. Of all the people to come over it had to be the man of their conversation himself, "but if there's one thing I really like about her it's her confidence."

"Confidence?" Tenten piqued for Ino's sake.

"Yeah, her confidence. She isn't one of those girls who worries about everything, you know?" he glanced at Tenten, "you're one of those girls too. Anyway, Kasuga will wear whatever the hell she wants whenever the hell she wants and she makes it all work. And you know, she never wears make-up either. I think I've seen her wear it once, at prom. That was it. And maybe some mascara every once in a while – oh wait, was that actually eyeliner?" he laughed lightly, prompting Tenten to smile, "I would never know. She just never cared. That's what makes Kasuga so attractive."

"Oi, Sarutobi! Stop flirting and get over here! Teach me how to do a gainer!" Masamune yelled, making Sarutobi roll his eyes.

"Well I'll see you around I guess! Oh, and Tenten," he leaned closer so he could whisper in her ear, "might wanna' keep your eye on Yukimura. You know," he subtly pointed at Sakura, who was currently attempting to teach Naruto how to do a backflip, much like how Yukimura had taught her.

"Right. Got it, I'll keep an eye on him," Sarutobi winked at her before he started walking away. Tenten was about to speak to Ino when Sarutobi suddenly turned around.

"Oh! Tenten, who's your friend?"

"Huh?" Tenten mentally slapped herself before tugging on Ino's pony-tail, making her squeak and jerk up her head.

"Um! Oh uh- I-I-I – Ya-Yamanako Ino!" she bowed her head shyly, "nice to meet you."

Sarutobi grinned at her, "Ino huh? Sarutobi Sasuke. You should come next time too," he hurried over to Masamune who had started doing an imitation of the moonwalk – though really, he was simply running in place.

Tenten crouched down next to Ino, noticing that her friend was twirling her hair around her finger, a light blush on her cheeks.

"See? He didn't give a second thought to how she looks. And by looks I mean her assets. You know what I mean," Tenten pinched Ino's cheek.

"Y-yeah. Thanks for getting that out of him. In a nice way. You know what I mean," Ino stood and brushed off her pants, "I'm going to go do something. Maybe work on my cartwheel or something. See you later Tenten."

Tenten frowned as Ino walked off, scratching the back of her head, _'of course what Sasuke said would hit her hard. Ino really cares about how she looks and what she wears... but I guess Sasuke isn't interested in all that. Or maybe I'm giving him too much credit,'_ she sighed as she stood, _'even _I'm _jealous of Kasuga's form. Especially her legs. If I had her legs, I could do wonders on the soccer field.'_

She scowled to herself as she trotted over to her school's group, where Ino had ended up migrating to; Magoichi and Tsuruhime were also there, the younger girl doing some silly little dance that Hinata had picked up and was now doing with her.

_'If I want Kasuga's legs I have to do more working out. Maybe I should talk to her...'_ her thought trailed off as she noticed Kojyuro sitting by his lonesome by the wall. He had worked up quite the sweat, his shirt slung over one of his shoulders. He really did have a nice body: well-toned abs and arms. Tenten was sure his legs were as toned as his arms were.

He was gulping down some water when she sat down next to him.

"Hey," he said without opening his eyes as he chugged his water.

"Hey yourself. What are you doing over here?" she asked. Kojyuro lowered his water bottle, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth before he looked at her.

"I was, on the bars. Chin-ups. And then I did upside-down sit ups. I'm escaping the crowd, to be honest; don't like crowds," he explained, gesturing around the corner.

"Don't like crowds because they wanted you to teach them how you did that?" Tenten probed, smiling at him when he tried to hide his.

"Caught me. But they're doing fine without me. Speaking of which," he sat down on the floor from his crouch, "you haven't done anything since we came in. I take it you don't like crowds either huh?"

"Yeah... I'm more at home with soccer, not all this," she swept her hand around in a circle.

"That's the whole gym," he commented.

"Yeah. Gymnastics. The one thing I'm really bad at."

"You could learn a thing or two from Yama," he suggested, taking another sip of his water. Aside from noticing that he had a very nice profile, Tenten was glad that he had mentioned the blonde, _'now I can ask about her without it being too awkward.'_

"I guess I could, but do you know what her schedule is like? I mean," she quickly continued the thought when Kojyuro gave her a suspicious look complete with narrowed eyes, "does she run?"

"Damn right she runs. Every morning and every evening. Doesn't drink any sports drinks either, just water and milk. She's got a great diet to top that off," he suddenly stopped talking, prompting Tenten to stare at him.

"... you don't think it's weird that I know all that?" he muttered quietly, looking at her from under his hand. It had never crossed Tenten's mind that it would be strange for him to know all that about her.

"Don't mention it, sheesh! You'll just make me think about it too much and then I _might_ think you're weird. But I figure you know because the two of you are friends?" she ventured, giving him a smile. His lips quirked up at the sides.

"Heh, I guess. We're close and we're not. I don't like her boyfriend nor do I like Sarutobi."

"You guys don't get along?" Tenten was surprised at this news, _'I was sure Kojyuro and Sasuke were friends!'_

"We don't. Her boyfriend's a jock and a jerk. Overprotective bastard too. Yama is very damn capable of fighting _me_ off. And Sarutobi? The idiot needs to lay off. He and Yama are really close friends if anything. She's not interested in him," the irritation in his voice when he told her this made Tenten cringe.

_'I don't think I'll be bringing that up again,'_ to Kojyuro she said, "I see. So Sasuke's pursuing Kasuga and you don't think he stands a chance?"

"He doesn't stand a chance in hell," he growled before knocking his head against the wall, "sorry I'm being so damn cranky. It just irks me."

"No problem. You gotta' unload it on someone, don't you?"

"I guess. But why didn't you just ask Yama yourself?" he inquired, turning his head to look at her. Tenten almost blushed.

"I'll admit it, I'm intimidated by her. She's beautiful, she's athletic, she's got -"

"I know what she's got," he interrupted, looking away; Tenten's eyes widened and he continued talking, "you don't have to be intimidated by her though. Under all her tough exterior Yama's a nice girl. You just have to talk to her."

Tenten stood as he did, "I'll go see what Masamune's up to."

"Mm... do you get along with anyone aside from Masamune?" Tenten asked, shifting on her feet. He smiled a sad smile.

"Not really. Masamune's the only guy I get along with. And at the odd time, Sanada," he began walking away and waving to her before Tenten could pursue the issue. She frowned, wandering back over to the group from her school.

_'I didn't realize he had so few friends,'_ she perked up, feeling a stare on her. After looking around for a moment she noticed that Magoichi was staring at her. She blinked at the other girl, quirking an eyebrow. Magoichi looked away, her eyes flickering with irritation.

_'Oh? That's strange... oh well,'_ a gasp escaped past Tenten's lips before she could stop it, _'when was Yukimura over here?'_ she hurried over to the tall boy only to come to a halt.

"No, dude! You have to tuck _both_ your legs. Bring your knees up to your chest."

"I'm trying!" Naruto wailed, "it's really hard you know?"

Yukimura's mouth dropped open and he brought a hand to his face, "a backflip is one of the easiest things to do. Here, let me help you."

Naruto pouted but let Yukimura help him.

"That's right. Now just jump back, got it? I'll help you do the flip," Yukimura instructed. Tenten noticed that Sakura was nervously watching from the side, biting her nails.

"On the count of three. One, two, three!" Naruto jumped into the air and Yukimura slipped an arm under his legs and back, forcing him to bring his knees to his chest and ultimately helping him complete the backflip. Unfortunately Naruto landed flat on his back; he looked excited as he got up.

"Again! Help me do that again!" he exclaimed, scrambling back onto the mat. Yukimura laughed.

"Okay hot shot, one more time, then try it by yourself."

"Hai, hai!"

Tenten smiled to herself and wandered over to Sakura's side, "good to see they're getting along."

"Huh! Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, at least Kiba's keeping his mouth shut this time," Sakura mentioned, "where have you been?"

"Me? I was wandering around, talking to Kojyuro for a bit. Do you know where Neji is?"

"Oh yeah! He's over at the trampoline -"

"You're doing it wrong!" the sharp feminine voice belonged to Kasuga and both Tenten and Sakura whirled around. Ino was cowering at the taller girl.

"Um, it-it's been a while so -" Ino fruitlessly tried to defend herself from Kasuga. The taller blonde planted her hands on her hips.

"When you do a cartwheel, especially after a while, you should be making a T with your hands on the mat," Kasuga instructed while demonstrating, "like this."

"Oh! Um... like this?" Ino mimicked. Kasuga gave a little shake of her head, bending down to position Ino's hands better on the mat.

"Straighten yourself a little – yeah, like that. That's good. Good form," Kasuga continued her inspection. When she was satisfied she stepped back, "now try."

Ino did – and her cartwheel was perfect. Tenten watched as she did her best not to grin after completing it – _'I don't think I would be wanting to grin either, not with Kasuga standing there,'_ Tenten swallowed. Kasuga had crossed her arms over her chest, but she wasn't looking down at Ino nor sizing her up.

"You ever done gymnastics?" Kasuga asked, leaning forward slightly. Ino nodded her head.

"Yeah, I dropped it after a while though."

"Hmph! You should pick it up again. Your body remembers the movements," Kasuga and Ino continued their conversation. Tenten turned back to Sakura when she felt her friend tug on her sleeve.

"I'm gonna' go to the bathroom. Anyway, looks like Neji has gone over to join Itachi and Kisame with Masamune and them."

"All right. I'll go over there then," Tenten replied, wondering if Sakura really _was_ going to the bathroom as she turned around.

* * *

Sakura watched Tenten as she walked away, nibbling on her lip.

_'Sure, I'm happy that Yukimura and Naruto are getting along – for the most part – but if Naruto finds out about the park – oh right! I was going to the bathroom.'_

Sakura had used it as an excuse to get away from everyone else. Since Tenten had been wandering around she had been practicing her backflip. When Naruto had seen her doing it he had come running over, demanding that she teach him. Which eventually lead up to Yukimura coming over to teach the majority of their group since Sakura was doing such a horrible job.

Now she just wanted to get away and sit by herself on the bleachers that had been hidden behind one wall. She sighed, sitting on the end that was sticking out in the light so she could watch Tenten.

_'She and Neji look so good together... ha ha, I guess Neji isn't so good at doing flips,'_ she giggled behind her hand as Neji tried again and again to do a front flip until Masamune got tired of seeing him fail and decided to help.

_'Oh wait, maybe that's actually a gainer? Ahh, I don't even know... they're having fun, at least,'_ she smiled when Tenten started laughing while trying to help Neji up when he failed _again_ to do whatever it was Masamune was trying to teach him.

She shuffled out of view, comfortable in the dark.

"I wonder why Tenten was talking to Kojyuro."

"I wonder why a pretty flower is sitting all alone in the dark," a voice breathed in her ear. Sakura jumped; she hadn't expected Yukimura to follow her!

"Y-Yukimura! What are you doing here?" she whispered furiously. She couldn't see his face very well but she knew his lips had just quirked up in a smirk – a very boyish, cute smirk.

"I figured I would keep you company. Plus, that Hinata learns things really quick, and Kiba too. They're helping everyone else."

"Oh," a thought crossed Sakura's mind, "do you know where Temari went?"

"Yeah, she's over at the trampolines with Ieyasu. Those two are pretty good friends, actually. Temari and Kasuga are a little close too," he shuffled closer to her. She could feel his body heat radiating off his arm onto hers.

"Mm," Sakura knew she should move away, but a voice bit inside her head, telling her that moving away would only make it so he moved closer again.

_'I should at least move into the light,'_ she shook her head slightly, _'n-no, that's too far. He'll know I'm trying to get away from him if I do that.'_

She decided to strike up a conversation with him in hopes of staving off anything that might happen, "so how have you been?"

"Been good. Naruto was bragging about acing that test earlier. Guess all the credit goes to you, eh?"

Sakura giggled, "yeah, I guess," she kicked one of her feet, "but how was the rest of your week?"

"Awesome. We had a game on Friday. We won. Oh right! I'm on the basketball team; never told you that did I?" he scratched the back of his head. A song came on and Sakura itched to know what it was; techno wasn't normally in her tastes, but something about this song...

_'Maybe it's the lyrics. Something about control,'_ she decided to ask Yukimura if he knew what the song was.

"Hey, Yukimura."

"Hm?" his voice was still in it's quiet whisper, like he was afraid that they might get caught. Sakura swallowed and pushed the thoughts to the furthest part of her mind.

"Do you know what this song is called?" she felt his forehead touch hers and her heart fluttered; her stomach flip-flopped.

"Hm... sounds like something by DaRude... probably their song 'Out of Control'. Why'd you wanna' know?"

She knew he was too close but she really couldn't find it in her to push him away, "I just – wanted to know, that's all. It sounds nice. I don't really like techno though."

"You don't? That's a shame," the butterflies that had built up in Sakura's stomach let loose and flitted through her entire body. His rough hand was on her face, stroking her cheekbone.

_'Push him away, push him away, push him away!'_ she screamed to herself. Her body was frozen, however, and before she knew it Yukimura had slid his fingers slowly down her cheek and under her chin, lifting her head.

"Yu-Yukimura -" she whimpered softly, her lips quivering. She wanted to tell him to stop, that they shouldn't do this and that he needed to go away but her lips betrayed her and only let her say, "Yukimura..."

Yukimura muttered something under his breath - something about how he couldn't hold back anymore – and drew her lips to his. The butterflies in Sakura's stomach invaded her heart and flapped their wings mercilessly. She sighed into the kiss, raising her hand to his strong neck.

His kiss was unlike any other kiss she'd experienced before; sweet and thrilling, almost forbidden. Never had Sakura been given an open-mouthed kiss this gentle. She admitted she loved it, going so far as to kiss him back, but the moment his tongue touched hers she pulled back a bit. He pulled back as well, gazing into her eyes.

Sakura could only think of how she was going to get away with this.

* * *

"What the hell is Yukimura doing?" Masamune demanded of Kojyuro when he walked over. Kojyuro shrugged.

"Looks like he's helping people learn how to do the backflip. Completely harmless," he clapped a hand on Masamune's shoulder, "nothing to worry about."

"Yukimura is _always_ something to worry about," Masamune complained. He watched Tenten out of the corner of his eye; she was chatting with Sakura, who looked nervous.

_'Well with Yukimura and Naruto near each other after what happened a few days ago, of course she's nervous,'_ he sighed, watching painfully as Neji continuously failed to do a proper gainer. He was being more successful in doing a front flip.

"Gees, Hyuuga yer doin' it all wrong," Motochika commented. He and Kisame were resting while Itachi was doing some chin-ups on a near by bar. To Masamune's right Kojyuro had dropped into doing some push-ups.

"Hey, three-sixty, let's see it," Mitsunari half-demanded. Masamune was sure Kojyuro rolled his eyes before doing just that; he pushed up and gained enough leverage to turn three hundred sixty degrees before landing back on his hands and continuing his push-ups. Neji gawked at him.

"I would never be able to do that," he muttered and Masamune turned to him.

"Hell, I can't even do that. I tried and fell flat on my face."

"Which is something I've been doing all afternoon," the intuitive teen smiled then, "hello Tenten. Gotten bored have you?"

"Me? A little bit. I figured coming over here and watching you fail at doing a front flip a few more times would be entertaining," she teased, kissing Neji on the nose. Masamune felt a pang of jealousy in his chest; but what did he have to be jealous about?

_'Probably the fact that the first girl I've liked in ages is already taken. Damn it why do I always go for the difficult choices,'_ he glanced over to the other side of the gym; _she_ still marvelled him, no matter what she did. She could wear a huge sweater and still make it look fashionable and sexy – that's just who she was.

_'And Tenten is the only girl who can compare...'_ his thoughts drifted then to Oichi – while Motochika corrected Tenten on her incorrect assumption of the fact that it was a front flip Neji was trying to do – Tenten could even compare to Oichi. Tenten was just that amazing.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, freezing when Tenten glanced at him. She thankfully went back to laughing at Neji's failure and helping him up. Masamune, though, couldn't take Neji's failing anymore.

"All right that's it. I'm teaching you how to do this," he walked to the back of the mat and turned to face Neji, "first things first: it's called a gainer because you gain distance when you do it. You start here, run forward, plant your left foot firmly on the floor and then kick up. You can do a backflip yeah?" Masamune watched as Neji nodded his head, "let's see it."

Neji did a backflip and managed to land it. Masamune shrugged, "the only thing you'll have trouble with is the fact that your landing isn't that good, you see? But whatever. So it's like this," and Masamune demonstrated exactly how he had explained. He startled a group of girls when he landed near them. As a reflex he tossed his head a bit, grinning at them. They giggled and waved.

He turned, "get it?"

Neji nodded his head; he was standing where Masamune had been. Motochika started cheering him on and the next thing Masamune knew the whole group was – except for Kojyuro, though he was smiling. Tenten had sat down on his back, since Kojyuro was lying on the floor and clearly did not mind her sitting there.

_'Now let's see if he can do this,'_ Masamune stepped to the side, offering Neji the stage. The teen dashed forward – _'holy shit that's _way_ too fast' –_ but he _did _manage to successfully do the gainer without landing on his face. He was very pleased with himself, and Masamune laughed when he followed it up with a cartwheel.

"I feel accomplished," he announced, holding his hand out to Masamune. Instinctively he took Neji's hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

"Nicely done, man. You picked it up fast."

"I'm a visual learner," he explained, then glanced at Tenten. Masamune hesitantly looked over his shoulder to see that Kojyuro was now lying on his back and Tenten was lying next to him, toying with his loose strands of hair. Kojyuro swatted at her hands a few times, smiling as he did so. She laughed and continued trying to toy with his hair, but Kojyuro grabbed her in a bear hug, making her laugh harder.

Masamune turned his head back to face Neji, "I can tell."

"Tenten does that to me sometimes, especially if I lie down. It's a habit of hers, to tug on loose hair," Neji continued releasing Masamune's hand. The fact that Neji was telling Masamune this unnerved him but he relaxed when Neji half-tackled Tenten away from Kojyuro, exclaiming, "I got you now!"

Masamune shook his head at the couple, _'they're cute together. She deserves him, damn it. I can't get all worked up over this,'_ Masamune turned his attention to where he had last seen Yukimura, only to find both him and the pinkette gone. His blood ran cold.

_'Where is he? More importantly, where is she? Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit! This is what happens when I stop paying attention; the fucker runs off to do who knows what!'_ he glanced worriedly at Tenten. She was having the time of her life wrestling with Neji, and Masamune didn't want to ruin the mood. But he really had to find Yukimura before something bad happened.

"Hey, uh, has anyone seen Yukimura?" he voiced, glancing continuously at Tenten. The group looked at each other, replying with a variety of negatives. Tenten seemed to catch on and she looked over her shoulder. She jumped up and was about to run off when Masamune quickly grabbed her arm.

"Yo, don't make it so obvious," he whispered furiously, feeling the confused looks from the others, "you go look for Sakura, I'll look for Yukimura."

"Deal," she whispered back and quickly removed herself from his side. Masamune would have spent a lot of time thinking about where Yukimura could have gone, but to his luck the tall brunette had just walked out from behind a wall that had been set up. Masamune could see bleachers peeking out from behind Yukimura but he couldn't see Sakura.

_'That little motherfucking little - '_ Masamune's thoughts continued with any other name he could possibly manage to call Yukimura as he stalked towards him. The brunette saw him coming and froze, dropping his arms from behind his head.

"H-hey Masamune," the nervous edge to Yukimura's voice made Masamune angry and he grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Where is she?" he demanded. Yukimura put his hands up in surrender.

"If you're asking about Sakura I don't know. Chill out, Masamune, I was just resting behind the wall on the bleachers!" Yukimura explained, maintaining eye contact with Masamune. Masamune glowered at him, knowing that his one eyed stare was unnerving. Yukimura swallowed but refused to break eye contact.

_'He knows. He knows the second he looks away I'm gonna' know he's lying. Fuck, I _know _he's lying; he knows exactly where Sakura is-' _Yukimura gestured over Masamune's shoulder before speaking, "oh! She's coming out of the bathroom."

Masamune turned his head and sure enough, there was Sakura, coming out of the bathroom. She looked like she was putting some kind of make up utensil away in her pocket when Tenten ran up to her. The two girls chatted for a bit; Masamune released Yukimura. He could have sworn that Yukimura breathed a sigh of relief and so he quickly turned on him again.

"I swear if anything happened between you two-" Yukimura started laughing loudly then, and after resting a hand on Masamune's shoulder to steady himself Masamune managed to make out the word "Naruto".

_'Oh,'_ Masamune waved at the blonde as he came over, "'sup blondie?"

"Blondie?" Naruto demanded, glaring at Yukimura, "where's my girlfriend?"

"Right there," Yukimura replied. Sakura appeared on Masamune's right and rested her head on Naruto's shoulder.

"I'm tired," she complained before looking up at him, batting her green eyes, "so did you finally master your backflip?"

Distracted from the subject at hand now, Naruto brightened, "yeah! Wanna' see it?"

"Of course! Show me show me!" Sakura and Naruto dashed back over to the Konoha high group – Ieyasu and Temari had joined them, while Magoichi and Tsuruhime had left.

Masamune looked at Yukimura but before he could speak Yukimura sighed, "gimme' a break, Masamune. She was in the bathroom. I was on the bleachers. Nothing happened."

Instead of pointing out that Yukimura had given Masamune good enough reason to believe he was lying, Masamune let it slide – for Tenten's sake.

_'She doesn't need the stress,'_ Masamune reasoned as he watched Magoichi shuffle over to Kojyuro. His friend was lying on his stomach again and Magoichi started drawing on his back. Kojyuro raised his head and, upon seeing that it was Magoichi, he lowered his head again.

_'And that's just not something that would normally happen. What is up with today?'_ Masamune wondered. Yukimura and Tenten were walking back towards the Basara high group, chatting to each other. Yukimura's hands had returned to the back of his head, and as much as Masamune would love to call him out on the fact that something had obviously happened between him and Sakura, Masamune felt that he shouldn't ruin the good mood.

* * *

Masamune was in the changing room by himself, splashing cold water on his face. He leaned against the sink, staring at the water drops as they ran into the drain.

It just had to be his luck that right after he and Tenten had found Yukimura and Sakura there had to be an accident. An accident that resulted in Tenten slamming quite hard into Masamune's chest and knocking him onto the floor. The position they landed in had been too suggestive, and it didn't help Masamune's situation when Tenten, who had been beyond flustered, couldn't manage to get up. He had snapped at her to stop moving while his face slowly started turning red and if it hadn't been for Kojyuro quickly getting a grasp of what was happening Masamune knew that the problem would have become something else entirely.

Masamune sighed, slicking his hair away from his face, _'thank Kami he lifted her off me. Shit that was so close. Too close.'_

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and lowered his arms to see that Tenten was standing in the doorway.

"What is it?" he asked to break the awkward air.

"Um... sorry about that," she started. Masamune chuckled, shaking his head.

"It wasn't your fault. That Hoshigaki is at fault."

"Actually it was Hidan's fault. Konan gave him an earful you know," she giggled nervously and shifted on her feet. Masamune stared at her, tilting his head.

"What did you come in here for?" he inquired as he walked towards her. She shrugged, leaning against the wall, her eyes downcast.

"They sent me to see if you were okay, since you looked pretty," she straightened a bit when Masamune pressed his forearm against the wall next to her, "embarrassed."

"It could have been worse, you see? You don't move around like that with your legs between a guy's. To be blunt," he explained, "because that could cause some eh... unwanted problems."

She was blushing now, "I – I get it! I didn't mean to," there was a shout from outside that made Masamune jump, _'what the fuck? That was Ishida just now. Wait a second,'_ Masamune could hear other voices. There was something happening just outside the building.

"A-Actually, the reason I came in here was because Sasuke was saying something about Kenshin and Kojyuro looked pretty angry," she looked frantic, "I didn't realize it would escalate to a fight that fast!"

"Shit," Masamune growled in English as he quickly hurried out of the changing room, Tenten right behind him, "shit, this is bad. Kojyuro's capable of killing that monkey!"

Upon exiting the building he saw that Motochika was struggling to pull Kojyuro off of Sasuke. Kojyuro had clearly knocked him to the ground, though Kojyuro had the starts of a bruise on his cheek and a cut on his forehead. Sasuke wasn't much better off; he was going to have a severe black eye for sure. Masamune could see that his cheek was already swollen.

"_Fuck!_" Hidan exclaimed. He was trying to block Sasuke from the onslaught of Kojyuro's fists, but Kojyuro was skilled enough to avoid hitting Hidan. Kisame joined in the attempt to pull Kojyuro off as Masamune did.

"Kojyuro, get a grip! Right fucking now!" Masamune snarled, closing his hand on Kojyuro's throat. His friend's ears were red with fury as the three finally got him off Sasuke. The other Sasuke and Neji helped Hidan hold Sasuke back.

_'These two totally wanna' tear each other to shreds,'_ Masamune had to put all his strength into holding Kojyuro back. The man was a force of nature with his immense strength.

"You cocky little bastard! Watch your fucking mouth!" Kojyuro yelled, straining against Kisame and Motochika. Both were muttering under their breath about Kojyuro's strength.

"What the hell do you care? You don't even like him!" Sasuke yelled back and Kojyuro surged forward; Masamune had to get out of his way unless he wanted to be trampled. Kojyuro's skull cracked against Sasuke's and knocked his head back; several of the girls gasped and Tsuruhime squeaked.

"_She's standing right there! _Don't talk about her boyfriend right in front of her like she doesn't exist you little fucker!" Kojyuro's words made Masamune – and half the group – turn their eyes to Kasuga. Seeing the look on her face made Masamune want to punch Sasuke in the gut. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks while she glared at the dazed teen.

_'Oh hell Sasuke didn't. No wonder Kojyuro's pissed off. This is ridiculous!'_

He looked at Tenten who had tapped him on the shoulder; she looked worried. He knew she was going to ask about what was going on when Kasuga finally spoke, her voice a harsh whisper.

"I can _hear_ you, Sasuke. I'm not _deaf_. I don't _need_ this stupid drama. I don't need to hear these rumours," Sasuke, finally past the dazed state, opened his mouth which caused Kasuga to start screaming at him, "I don't care! I don't care don't apologize I won't forgive you! _I won't!_ Don't talk about Kenshin like you know him, don't talk to me like you know _me_, don't say anything! I was standing here the entire fucking time! _I WAS RIGHT HERE!" _she stamped her foot against the ground, pointing at the spot to emphasize her point.

Masamune wanted to comfort her; he really did. But him approaching her now would only make the situation worse, and she was already beginning to walk away. The people holding Sasuke back had released him, though Kisame and Motochika kept their hands on Kojyuro's shoulders.

"Kasuga -" Sasuke started only to have her turn on him immediately.

"_Shut up!_ I don't want to talk to you!" she snapped, flipping open her phone. Masamune noticed that Neji was herding people away, saying something about this being none of their business. His cousin, Hinata, was helping him do so.

_'Heh, he's a smart guy. That's what I like about him. He knows when he should stick around and he knows when to leave,'_ Tenten, Masamune noticed, was refusing to budge. Neji sighed at her adamant expression and proceeded to force everyone else to leave. A car pulled up in the parking lot across the street, and Masamune wondered why it caught his attention. He figured it was because he recognized the model.

"Kenshin?" Kasuga's voice cut through Masamune's thoughts and his eye widened. He couldn't believe she had just called him.

"We need to talk. Oh fuck you, you two-timing jerk!" she suddenly shrieked, holding her phone away from her ear, "you and I are going to talk, and you are going to explain everything to me and _tell me the truth!_ Or I swear to Kami Kenshin I will break up with you! I'll break up with you damn it!" in her rage she raised her hand above her head and would have thrown her expensive phone against the street if someone Masamune recognized hadn't suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her wrist. The man's hand slid up her wrist and easily took the phone out of her hand; Kasuga turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying against his shoulder.

"Matsunaga..." Masamune muttered, eyes flicking to Kojyuro; he wasn't doing anything, to Masamune's surprise. He just looked relieved.

Hisahide stared at the phone in silence, though Masamune could hear Kenshin yelling from the other end. Hisahide then brought the phone to his ear and spoke, "Kenshin, be quiet. Talk to Kasuga, face-to-face, explain, and work it out yourself. If you don't, I'll tear your reputation apart until there's nothing left, and you know I'm the only one capable of doing that."

The cell phone was snapped shut and Hisahide lowered his arm, wrapping his free one around Kasuga. He grinned at the group, "long time no see. I got back two days ago, and Kasuga told me to meet her here."

"She _told_ you?" Kojyuro repeated. Hisahide nodded his head.

"Yes, kind sir, she told me to. It was an order, not a request."

"Don't call me 'kind sir' you bastard," Kojyuro growled. From Hisahide's shoulder Masamune heard Kasuga's muffled voice, "I thought you two were friends now."

Both Hisahide and Kojyuro stifled laughs.

"Never mind that, Kasuga. You told me to come here and here I am. And therefore, off we go," he winked at no one in particular and guided Kasuga over to his car, waving over his shoulder.

_'No wonder I recognized that car,' _Masamune realized before raising his voice a bit, "all right! Show's over guys, let's go."

The group dispersed, though Tenten fell in step next to Masamune. He glanced at her to see that Neji was leaving. Tenten was waving to him as he walked with his cousin in the general direction of a mega mall that was in the area.

"Neji is going to dinner with his family in that mall. It's the only reason he decided to come," Tenten explained at Masmaune's confused expression, though Masamune could hear the teasing in her voice. He smirked at her.

"Ha ha! He had more than one reason to come, I'm sure."

"Of course," her expression fell, "but what was that all about?"

Masamune sighed and looked up at the sky; the sun had yet to fully set and the sky was colored nice warm hues, "Sasuke probably flapped his mouth about a rumour that's been going around about Kenshin cheating on Kasuga. Kojyuro got pissed because Sasuke only does that on purpose."

"You mean he's _trying_ to get Kenshin and Kasuga to break up?" Tenten probed, though she didn't sound surprised. Masamune nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's his plan. He hopes it will give him a better chance at her, you see? He can't seem to wrap his head around the fact that she only sees him as a friend."

"That's a tough thing to do when you like someone," Tenten commented, and Masamune looked at her.

_'Don't I know it,'_ he thought, noticing how the sun made her skin glow. He quickly looked ahead when she felt his gaze and looked at him.

"So where are you going?" she asked, clasping her hands behind her back. Masamune shrugged – he knew that he was putting off going home because his family was there at the moment, though he knew they were going to call within the hour.

"Just wandering around. I'd ask you to come have dinner with me, but that sounds like a date," he grinned at her, enjoying the sound of her laugh.

"You know, Masamune, it's been a month," Masamune gave her an odd look. She looked uneasy as she continued, "and you weren't too happy the night your parents called..."

Masamune stopped walking. Tenten took two steps ahead of him before she stopped as well and turned around to face him, her hands still clasped behind her back.

"You remember that conversation huh?" he muttered softly; Tenten nodded her head.

"You said you might tell me in a month or so. And since that conversation, it's been a month," she took a breath, "I want to know why you seem to hate your family so much."

Masamune glared at the ground and Tenten continued talking, "but it doesn't have to be here. Or now, for that matter," he looked up at her, wondering why she was scratching the back of her head and tapping her foot against the ground, "I just – I just want to know."

"But why do you want to know?" he inquired, gazing steadily at her. She bit her lip and looked away, towards the setting sun.

"Because I – I want to know more about you," the fact that she wasn't afraid to say that made Masamune relax.

"Well if you want to know..."

"I won't tell anyone else," she hurriedly whispered, like she was about to hear a big secret. Masamune was startled into laughter because of that, and he noticed that she looked relieved.

_'What, she was trying to make me laugh? She's cute... too cute,'_ he walked towards her until he stood an elbow's length away, "I'm sure you won't, but most of my friends know what's going down already. Kojyuro knows the most though."

"That I'm sure of," she replied, looking up at him. The way the sun hit her face made Masamune's heart skip a beat and he rested his forehead against hers. She tensed, but didn't push him away.

"Then it's a date," he teased again, making her laugh softly.

_'I go after Yukimura's throat for doing stuff like this and yet I'm doing it myself. Damn, I'm terrible,'_ he took a breath but Tenten spoke first.

"I think I should go home," she had a solemn look in her eyes but her lips were smiling.

"I think you should too," he agreed, but neither moved away from the other.

"I should. Unless you want me to eat dinner with you," her voice had grown quieter. Masamune would have grasped one of her hands in his but he quickly reminded himself that she was still dated Neji and that he had made a vow to himself that he would not make any obvious moves on a girl who was still dating someone.

"I'd appreciate that," he said in a voice as quiet as hers, his hand slipping into his pocket to shut off his phone. Just for two hours he'd like to have some peace and quiet with the girl he liked, even if she was unaware of his feelings and even if she was already taken.

She moved to stand beside him and they turned around together, walking back towards the gym so they could proceed past it and go into the mega mall. Their hands were close, but neither reached for the other.

* * *

A/N: Suddenly, my writing style changed and everything got weird and doesn't seem to flow. I refuse to have this many characters in the same chapter again - it throws me off. Badly. And yes, lots of stuff going on, lots of pairing hints. I'll name one: Kojyuro x Magoichi. Then there's another hinted Masamune one, but I'm not going to say which ;) Until next time~


	6. Chapter 6

Not as long as the last chapter, but I sure am on fire with this story aren't I? Hopefully I can continue with the fire long into my term at SCAD~

Anyway, the drama heats up! Lots of relationship problems, lots of high schoolers not acting like high schoolers and lots of - well, Neji being intuitive, I guess ;O

Enjoy~

* * *

**Chapter 6: Baby, tell me that you want me.**

Yukimura sighed, lying back on his bed. His mother was calling him from downstairs, saying something about the fact that Shingen – his step-father – would be home soon.

"Yeah, I'll come down when he gets home!" Yukimura yelled back before he returned to staring at his ceiling.

_'I am such an idiot. I can't believe I did that... I'm just lucky Masamune didn't pursue my pretty obvious lie,_' he sighed again, rolling his shoulders.

After he had kissed Sakura the two of them were stunned. He knew she was stunned because of how she had stared at him with wide, almost frightened eyes. If either Masamune or Naruto found out about it, it would spell trouble for them both.

_'I am so screwed. I mean it was a smooth move to tell her to quickly get over to the bathroom but... the way she looked at me... fuck...'_ Yukimura sat up, rubbing his forehead. He eyed his phone, sitting silent on the bedside table. He knew he should tell someone, but who could he tell? Masamune was a definite no go and Sasuke would either get way too excited or really quiet.

"Aw damn it..." Yukimura muttered as he scrolled through his contacts. He stopped on one name in particular – the man was an exceptional problem solver and Yukimura knew that he _could_ rely on him.

"Maybe not Masamune-mad though. Here goes nothing," he pressed call and listened, silently praying that he wouldn't get beat around the head for it later.

"_Hello?"_ the deep voice made Yukimura pale, but he greeted his friend anyway.

"H-Hey, Katakura," he started, cringing when he heard Kojyuro sigh.

"_What did you do?"_ - the question made Yukimura curse Kojyuro's intuition.

"Before we go into that, how did you know that's why I called?"

"_Because you only call when you run into a problem you can't tell Masamune or Sarutobi about,"_ he stated in a matter of fact voice, making Yukimura groan.

"Right. That's true. And like you said I've probably gotten myself into some deep shit."

"_Spit it out; I don't have all evening."_

Had he been in a better mood, Yukimura would have cracked a joke; instead he got to the point, "I kissed Sakura."

"_You are fucked. I don't think I can help you out of this one,"_ Kojyuro stated, his voice almost monotone.

_'Which means he's mad or irritated. Most likely both,'_ Yukimura took a deep breath, "I don't care if I get in trouble with Masamune or Naruto. I can take them on – well, not at the same time but you know what I mean. Blondie will be no problem for me."

"_Even I know he wouldn't be," _Kojyuro agreed, _"but if that's not what you need, then what is it?"_

"See I'm sure Sakura is terrified of me now. At the very least I now she's gonna' be scared to be around me, but damn it I can't believe I did that... anyway, I – I need to talk to her -"

"_Oh hell no..."_

"- and there's no way she's going to just come out on her own to see me after that," Yukimura further explained, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead, "but the next time our two schools get together -"

"_Sanada, I am _not_ going to be the middle-man," _Kojyuro interrupted. Yukimura was sure he would say that.

"I'm not _trying _to drag you into this okay? All I need is for you to find a way to get her to talk to you and then hang around near by or something. I swear all I want to do is apologize to her. I don't want her to be scared of me man..."

"_... if it happens again, you're calling either Masamune or Sarutobi. I'm not gonna' do this again,"_ Kojyuro muttered into the phone. Yukimura refrained from jumping around his room in joy.

"I owe you, Katakura."

"_Damn right you owe me. See ya,"_ Kojyuro hung up before Yukimura could say anything more.

_'Sucks that I won't be able to get his help again. But this is important. I've gotta' apologize to her or my chances are screwed,'_ he heard his mother call again, followed by Shingen's booming voice, and so he quickly tossed his phone on his bed and headed down the stairs, aiming a jump kick for Shingen's head the moment he saw his step-father.

* * *

"What is it with everyone and having girl problems?" Kojyuro demanded storming out of his room and throwing a pillow at the couch, "and _you!_ Get the fuck out of my house!"

Hisahide peeled the pillow off his face, quirking an eyebrow at Kojyuro, "your _house_? This is no house."

"Don't get smart with me, asshole," Kojyuro snarled, pulling open his fridge, "I'll sew your mouth shut."

"I'm sure you will!" Hisahide called from the living room; Kojyuro glared over the top of his fridge, his hand closing around a can of Arizona.

Hisahide had showed up out of the blue moments before Yukimura had called, bearing a "gift". This "gift" ended up being an article of clothing, which apparently belonged to Kasuga, which she apparently would be looking for soon.

_'And _apparently_ I'm going to be the first person she calls about it,'_ Kojyuro eyed the pink scarf sitting on the table near the door.

"When the hell did you get that anyway?" he finally asked, gritting his teeth when Hisahide smirked.

"I was hoping you would ask. I had to drive her home yesterday."

"Are you telling me you _stole_ it? From her house?" Kojyuro sat heavily on the couch across from Hisahide, "I swear you are a fucking stalker."

"You curse a lot more when you're in a bad mood, good sir," Hisahide observed.

"Shut your trap, Matsunaga. I told you not to call me that," Kojyuro snapped, popping open the can. Hisahide sighed.

"Why're you in such a foul mood? And here I thought we had finally become friends."

"I'm nasty to anyone who crosses my path when I'm pissed. You should know that already, dumb ass," Kojyuro pointed out, sipping his drink.

"That was uncalled for," Hisahide complained, shaking his head, "and also a lie, dear friend. You could never find it in yourself to be nasty to the ladies, even when you _are_ pissed off," the grin that spread over Hisahide's face made Kojyuro want to punch him.

"You. Are not. Helping."

"I am, actually," he pointed at Kojyuro's phone seconds before it began to ring, "my estimation was right. I told you she would call around seven."

Kojyuro grabbed his phone and looked at the caller ID – sure enough it was Kasuga. He glared at Hisahide as he pressed the "answer" button; Hisahide got up and waved, "I'll leave you to it."

"You son of a _bitch_," Kojyuro grumbled moments before Kasuga spoke, _"what?"_

"I wasn't talking to you," he sighed, "'sup? Or do you want me to guess."

"_Why would you be able to-"_ she paused, and when she spoke again her voice had darkened, _"Hisahide took it from my house didn't he? My scarf."_

"Yeah he did. And he brought it here. Don't bother getting riled up about it, Yama. He left."

"_That _bastard!_"_ she exclaimed, making Kojyuro pull his phone away from his ear, _"I guess I'll have to come get it."_

"Yeah, it's just sitting near my door. Do you need it tonight though?" he inquired, curious to know what she would be doing that required her scarf.

"_... you'll get mad. You never like it when I go out with him anyway."_

"Well shit."

"_Are you still mad about yesterday?"_ she sounded like she was leaving her apartment; Kojyuro could hear her mother saying 'good-bye' and 'I love you' in the background. Kasuga called back to her, repeating both phrases.

"Mad is an understatement," Kojyuro stated flatly, taking another sip of his drink. He eyed her scarf again while Kasuga released a soft laugh.

"_I guess mad _is_ an understatement. You didn't have to do that -"_

"That's not what I want to hear," Kojyuro muttered, cutting her off. He got up off the couch, setting his drink down on the table next to it. His feet led him to the table by the front door. His roommate was out at the moment. No one was going to see, no one would know but him...

"_... thank you," _she finally said as Kojyuro picked up her scarf. She spoke again, _"I'm gonna' come get my scarf. I need it for tonight if I want to stay warm."_

"You telling me that boyfriend of yours doesn't give you his jacket when you get cold?" he questioned, clenching her scarf in his hand.

"_I don't like asking him for it,"_ she replied; Kojyuro brought her scarf to his face, inhaling deeply. The fabric smelled like her; fresh and fruity, with just the slightest hint of sweat. If there was one thing Kojyuro liked about Kasuga it was her undeniably feminine smell.

"If he was a good boyfriend you wouldn't even have to ask," Kojyuro scoffed, "just goes to prove that he's a jerk."

"_I swear, both you and Sasuke are out for his head," _she complained. Kojyuro leaned against the wall next to the table, putting her scarf back on top of it.

"Where you at?"

"_I'll be getting off the bus soon. Should be there in ten minutes."_

"All right, I'll see you then," he waited for her reply before he hung up. He was about to move away from the wall when he heard a key being inserted into the lock of the door.

_'Oh, she's back,'_ he mused as Magoichi pushed the door open, her eyes betraying her irritation at the fact that the door had been left unlocked.

"Sorry. Matsunaga was here earlier. He doesn't have a key," Kojyuro explained before she could demand reasoning for why the door was unlocked. Instead her sharp eyes honed in on the scarf by Kojyuro's side.

"Who's scarf is that?"

"Yama's. She's on here way over to pick it up," he narrowed his eyes at her when she narrowed her eyes at him, "hey look. Matsunaga brought it over because he stalks Yama."

"He _stalks _her? I doubt that," she moved to stand in front of Kojyuro. She wasn't much shorter than he was – they gazed at each other.

"He just knows how to get under your skin," Magoichi said, glancing at the scarf. Kojyuro grabbed the scarf, shaking his head.

"Matsunaga knows how to get under everyones skin, Saika," he replied, holding the scarf out of Magoichi's reach. She sighed at him.

"What?" she sounded irritated as he maneuvered away from her.

"You tend to get like this whenever another girl comes over. Seriously, Saika, you're just my roommate. Don't make such a big deal out of it whenever another girl comes over," he could have sworn a pout touched her lips after he spoke.

_'The last thing I need. Girl problems,'_ he slung Kasuga's scarf over his shoulder, glancing at Magoichi. She was setting down her bag, paying no heed to him for now. She was a beautiful girl, _'real nice thighs.'_

Kojyuro mentally slapped himself after the thought. That thought was the one that had gotten him into a physical relationship with Hishashii. Remembering her brought a smirk to his lips, _'Hishashii was good in bed.'_

"Katakura?" Magoichi was standing in front of him again. He looked at her.

"What is it with you and standing in front of me?" he asked, sitting on the arm of the couch and crossing his arms over his chest. Magoichi placed a hand on her hip, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Because I -" the doorbell interrupted her and she scratched the back of her neck, her gaze drifting to the floor. Kojyuro shrugged and headed over to the door. He pulled it open to reveal Kasuga – but he noticed that she looked disheveled.

"Yama, what's up?" he inquired, leaning against the door frame. It took him a moment to remember that her scarf was draped over his shoulder. He offered it to her, "here's your scarf."

She took it from him wordlessly before he heard her whisper, "I never knew Saika-san was your roommate."

Before she could walk away Kojyuro grabbed her arm, "hey. It's not like I was trying to keep it a secret. No one ever asked."

She looked at him, her amber eyes suspicious. Kojyuro blushed involuntarily as he furiously whispered, "we are _not_ dating, Yama. Masamune found the place for me and Saika needed a place to stay. It's only temporary."

"Temporary?" she whispered back, glancing over his shoulder at Magoichi before fixing her eyes on him again, "your roommate is a _girl_."

"She's just a friend," he argued, pulling her back towards him when she tired to leave. Her shoulder touched his chest; his heart jumped at the slight touch and he noticed that Kasuga shyly turned her head away before giving him her best glare.

"Just a friend or not, you shouldn't be sharing an apartment with a girl," Kasuga reminded him, jerking her arm out of his hand. He held his hand back in apology, ducking his head.

"Go on your date. Have fun."

Kasuga gave him a pained expression as she turned away. He watched her as she walked down the hall, a subtle bounce in her step that made her hips move up and down, her short-shorts making her already long legs longer. And her belly shirt was a beautiful floral print in warm hues against black – perfect colors against her skin tone. The way she ruffled the hair at the back of her head distracted his attention from her well-toned legs.

_'And even with a body like that I still like her eyes the most,'_ he mused, sensing Magoichi come up on his left.

"What, Saika?"

"So this is only a temporary place for me?" her voice was monotone. Kojyuro sighed and turned so he could face her.

"Heard that did you? I wasn't necessarily talking about you."

"This isn't even like high school students," she said, "none of us act like high school students."

Kojyuro quirked an eyebrow, wondering why she had brought this up, "you're right, high school students living in apartments, working part time jobs, and being completely out of contact with their parents isn't like high school students. Which means the only high school students who act like a high school students among us are Yama and Sanada, because they still live with their parents."

"Our grade twelve year is a wreck," she pressed a hand to his chest, gazing up at him through her eyelashes. Her gaze was very alluring, though it set Kojyuro on edge.

"I suppose. We all act a lot older than we are, that much is a fact. Have you-" he pulled her hand away from his chest, "-considered moving back in with your folks?"

"Have you considered moving back in with yours?" she retorted, running her hand up his arm. He flinched away from her touch – they were standing in the door of the apartment for goodness sake!

"No, but I could start considering it," he replied through clenched teeth. This was really the last thing he needed. It must have been the only reason she wanted to move in with him.

_'Yama was right, I can't have a female roommate,'_ Kojyuro tried to move inside the apartment, but Magoichi placed her hand against the door frame by his side. He nervously wetted his lips, pressing back against the door frame.

"You asked me why I always stand in front of you," she muttered. Kojyuro looked down at the floor, then back up at her face.

"Yeah, well, you can forget I asked. Look, Saika, this is the doorway of the apartment. Let's at least go inside," he suggested when he felt her fingers on his stomach, under his shirt. He immediately pushed down on her hand, "woah, Saika, what the hell?"

"How about you answer one of my questions?" she asked, her hand remaining on his stomach despite his attempts to make her move it. He silently cursed the amount of strength she had in her arms.

"Fine. What's your question?" he half-demanded, glancing inside the apartment. Never before had he wanted to leave a place so badly.

"Where do friends kiss?"

"On the cheek," he answered robotically, refusing to make eye contact with her.

"Oh? Not-" he felt her lips against his and instinctively turned his head to accept her kiss. She pulled back, looking smug, "-here?"

Kojyuro stepped towards her, forcing her back against the opposite frame of the door. He saw shock flicker through her eyes before he answered her, "no. Definitely not on the lips."

He stalked into the apartment, leaving Magoichi standing in the doorway.

This was not what Kojyuro needed. His day just kept getting worse.

* * *

Masamune was confused. Ever since Saturday evening Kojyuro had been acting strange. Firstly Masamune's childhood friend had called him, attempted to speak but ended up apologizing for calling and hanging up. And secondly, he had done the same thing on Sunday, only managing a few broken sentences before apologizing and hanging up again.

Now it was Tuesday, during the entire grade twelve's physical education class, and Masamune could see why Kojyuro was acting so strange.

_'What the hell is Saika up to?' _he wondered as the girl stood in front of Kojyuro, giving her head a toss. Kojyuro looked like he was trying very hard to act normal, but Masamune could tell that he was uncomfortable with her being so close, especially with how he crossed his arms over his chest and had his head lowered. Yukimura appeared in Masamune's peripheral vision and he turned his head.

"'Sup Sanada?"

"Nothing really. You know how to do our math homework?" he asked, his eyes honing in on Kojyuro and Magoichi. Masamune looked back at the two as well to see that Magoichi was running her hand up and down Kojyuro's arm. Kojyuro flinched, taking a subtle step back though he _did_ keep his composure.

"Yeah. Of course I know how to do it you dunce. But do you know what's up with _that?_" he asked, gesturing with his head at the couple at the tables. Yukimura squinted his eyes and shrugged.

"I guess Saika-dono's making a move on Katakura? I don't really know, but it looks like she's flirting with him."

Masamune narrowed his eye, _'so that's why he called yesterday. Since she's made her feelings obvious he can't be her roommate anymore. That's a disaster waiting to happen.'_

"Oh, I see."

Yukimura gave Masamune a confused look, like he had expected Masamune to know that. And Masamune had known, to some extent, that Magoichi had had feelings for Kojyuro. That she would be making them obvious now -

Masamune's eye drifted to the other side of the court, where the majority of the girls had gathered. His gaze honed in on the only blonde among them as she stretched her legs.

_'Been obvious to me for a while that Kojyuro's got the hots for Kasuga. Saika must've noticed that, and now she's intimidated because there are few girls who have anything on Kasuga... okay well Tenten can compare but that's a different story entirely,'_ Masamune cracked his neck when Shingen blew his whistle, gathering all the girls to one side first. Magoichi gave Kojyuro a flirtatious wave which he responded to with a nervous smile before he rushed over to Masamune's side.

"Well you've got your hands full," Masamune observed, nodding his head at Magoichi.

"Oh shut your trap. I wasn't expecting it all right?" Kojyuro whined, running his hand through his hair. Masamune couldn't resist laughing at Kojyuro's expense.

"I find it so amusing how you get worked up about stuff like this, you see? Not even tests or exams make you that nervous."

Kojyuro sighed, raking his hand through his hair again, "yeah, but I'm not – I'm not good with girls. You know that."

"You and Hishashii had it going on."

"Masamune, that was all physical hardly any feeling," Kojyuro admitted in a soft voice, looking away. Masamune stared at him.

"You guys were together for like, two _years_," he almost exclaimed, though Masamune managed to keep his voice low as Shingen had waved the guys over. Kojyuro's eyes filled with guilt.

"I never told you huh? We – we never had much of a relationship. It was mostly physical. I mean, I really only liked her legs..."

Masamune frowned, "I see. But then Kasuga -"

Kojyuro's immediate glare followed by waves of red through his cheeks cut Masamune's question short. Kojyuro didn't need to give him any more answer than that.

The blush made Kojyuro's feelings for Kasuga quite obvious.

* * *

Sakura rushed through the gym. Her attempts to avoid Yukimura so far had been successful, _'though it's not like I want to avoid him. I just... I don't know how to talk to him now.'_

Up the stairs she went, to the changing rooms. Sakura caught herself checking around the corners of the stairs to make sure Yukimura wasn't there. She chided herself for doing so when she bumped into Kojyuro at the top of the second last flight of stairs.

"Oh hey, Haruno. I was looking for you," he informed her, touching her bicep. She tilted her head at him, confused.

"Uh? What do you need?"

"You heading upstairs?" he asked, "if it's more convenient for you we can just go up there."

"Yeah I was on my way to the changing rooms since Tenten, Ino and I are leaving soon."

"Oh? That's quite early," he observed as they finished climbing the final flight.

"Yeah I know," Sakura laughed, "the three of us are going to go out to dinner together, that's why."

"A Friday night and you're ditching the rest of us," he laughed at her pout, "I'm just teasing you."

"You can tease?" Sakura pretended to gasp in shock, "I thought you were incapable, especially after the fight last week."

Sakura felt guilty for saying that when he hung his head in shame, "sorry about that. I can joke around when I'm in a good mood."

"Sasu- I mean, Sarutobi-san put you in a foul mood pretty fast didn't he?" she said as the two came to the changing rooms. Kojyuro leaned against the wall outside the girl's changing room.

"Yeah, but bad-mouthing anyone with filthy rumours and shit gets me in a foul mood no matter who says it. But you're lucky you're a girl. I can hardly find it in me to get pissed off at girls," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. Sakura had to admit something herself; she found Kojyuro attractive, and being around him left her feeling nervous.

"Actually, can I change first?" Sakura asked, pointing at the changing room. Kojyuro nodded his head.

"Yeah sure, don't let me stop you."

She smiled at him, muttering a quick thanks as she hurried into the changing room. Sakura quickly changed out of her sweaty gym clothes and took a shower, savouring the feel of the warm water rushing over her worn muscles.

Today she had done a lot more than usual. Ino she knew was still downstairs getting reacquainted with her old gymnastic self, picking up tips and skills from Kasuga. Though Kasuga let off the tough girl vibe, Sakura found that what Tenten had heard from Kojyuro about her actually being a nice girl was true; Kasuga was very kind albeit strict. Sakura was sure she had done the forward roll ten times before Kasuga had been satisfied with her form.

Sakura stepped out of the shower, her thoughts drifting to Tenten. Her brunette friend was much more comfortable around Masamune now, so much so that she was even play-fighting with him more often. Sakura knew that secretly, the act made Tenten nervous, but she was glad that Tenten was having fun anyway.

_'Though I think it's hard on Masamune. I'm pretty sure he likes her,'_ Sakura sighed to herself as she rubbed her wet hair in a towel. She had considered getting her hair cut, except Naruto was much against her getting it cut off.

_'I wonder if Kojyuro will give me his input,'_ she bit her lip against asking Yukimura. She _still _wasn't sure she could handle talking to him yet.

After she had wrapped her towel around her body she began walking over to her clothes. Movement caught her eye and she turned her head and froze.

Yukimura had frozen as well, simply staring at her as she stared at him.

_'... w-w-wh-wha-what is he _doing_ in here? This is the _girl's _changing room!'_ she would have made a beeline for the showers again if Yukimura hadn't spoken first.

"W-wait, Sakura! I uh-" he was very nervous, shifting back and forth on his feet, "I mean, you- no, I- oh fucking shit I suck at this..." Sakura couldn't help giggling at the slip up he made, especially after he covered his mouth and glanced at her, his cheeks dusted with red.

"I- I'm sorry," he finally managed to say while staring into her eyes, "about last week. I didn't mean that. Well no, that's not true, I _did_ mean that but I didn't – uh, you get what I mean... right?" he sounded hopeful that she would, and Sakura did. He hadn't _meant_ to kiss her, but he _did_ like her. She shyly tucked some hair behind her ear, though she felt a bit embarrassed. She _was_ naked under the towel, after all, and if she wasn't careful it would fall off.

"So are you trying to say that you like me, Yukimura?" she queried, giving him her best flirtatious gaze. It had the desired affect; he blushed, lowering his gaze to the floor. He tapped the toe of his foot against the cement a few times before he muttered in a soft voice, "yeah..."

Sakura held her towel more tightly around her body, _'I shouldn't have given him that look while wearing only a towel. I better shoo him out.'_

"I need to get dressed, Yukimura. Y-You know I can't respond to your feelings..."

"You say that like I'm going to give up," he remarked, crossing his arms over his chest, "I don't give up that easily."

She pursed her lips, "that doesn't change the fact that I need to get dressed. And I'm not going to put my clothes on with you standing there."

Yukimura tilted his head before he blushed for a third time, finally remembering where he was standing.

"Ah shit that's right! I've snuck into the girl's changing room... right, time to sneak back out..." he peered around the corner and gave her wave before he bolted. Sakura waited a few minutes to ensure that he was gone before she picked up her clothes and moved back into the shower side feeling giddy.

_'He likes me. He really does like me. So Chousokabe-san caught onto that quite fast.'_

* * *

"Call him, Tenten. Just call him."

"I can't! The last time he – we went to eat dinner," she nearly stumbled over revealing to Neji that she had somewhat already gone on a 'date' with Masamune, "his parents were really angry with him when he got home."

"And he was big enough to deal with it himself," Neji replied, crossing his arms in a satisfied way when she pouted. Tenten looked at her phone; she had already scrolled through all her contacts to Masamune. All she had to do now was press the green telephone on the left of her keypad -

Neji grabbed the phone from her, making her shriek, "N-Neji!"

"Since you can't do it yourself I'll do it for you," he said nonchalantly, easily keeping the phone out of her reach as she chased him around the school ground.

"Hello, Masamune? Mm it's Neji. No, Tenten's chasing me around at the moment because I have her phone," Tenten dove for Neji but he ducked under the tumble gym, making her scowl as he sat down under the slide, "in the playground. To be more precise, I'm under the slide until she calms down," Neji laughed and Tenten swore she could hear Masamune laughing as well.

_'Ugh those jerks! Just wait till I get my hands on him,' _Tenten fumed, stalking around the little gym Neji was hiding under.

"Are you doing anything this week- Oh? You're having a party at your apartment?" Neji focused his pupil-less gaze on Tenten; she froze, her heart pounding in her ears.

_'Masamune's having a party this weekend? At his apartment?'_ she listened as Neji discussed the details with Masamune, deliberately repeating them so Tenten would know what was going on, "Saturday night? Mm, five-thirty? Till when? Wow, twelve am is quite late," Neji glanced at Tenten again before repositioning himself under the slide; he was now lying down on his stomach.

"So you're parents are gone and that's why you're celebrating?" Neji grinned, "I see. Tenten will come, of course! You were going to call? I see; beat you to it didn't I," Neji laughed again and Tenten sprinted towards him, her face red. He muttered something into the phone and held it out over his back; Tenten dove for it, her body slamming against Neji.

"Ooooooow," he complained to which Tenten hissed, "you deserved that!"

"_He deserved what?"_ Masamune asked. Tenten blushed.

"He dserved to be squished for taking my phone! Anyway, Neji and I will both come," Tenten glanced at Neji to see that he was pursing his lips, "how many people will be going?"

"_Huh? Oh eh – looks like I've got ten people coming, plus you and Neji makes twelve,"_ it sounded like he was flipping through some papers.

"Want me to bring Sakura, Ino and Hinata? And Temari?"

"_Mari's already coming,"_ he informed her, _"Ieyasu convinced her to come. As for who else will be there, well, Kojyuro, Yama, Sanada, Sarutobi... Akechi, Chousokabe, Ishida and Saika. And you and Neji."_

Tenten couldn't resist smiling, "all right, we'll be there."

"_Yeah, see you then,"_ Tenten could practically hear the joy in his voice and she couldn't resist blushing again. Right when she was about to hang up Masamune spoke again, _"o-oh yeah! Matsunaga might be coming too. He's a freak of nature some what. He can really fuck with your head, you see? So um... be careful around him."_

Tenten would have asked why but she shrugged off the red-flag that shot up in her head, "okay, I'll do my best. See you."

Tenten hung up and looked at Neji to see that he had propped himself up on one arm, whistling softly to himself.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?"

She proceeded to assault Neji with her fists, wrestling with him under the slide until she pinned him to the ground.

"Stop letting me win," she breathed, touching her forehead to his.

"Maybe," he muttered before pressing his lips to hers.

* * *

A/N: As much as I like NejiHina I can't seem to get away from NejiTen. ANYWAY! Love rectangle in-coming!

I wonder what delicious things will happen at the party next chapter ;D


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